Letter from the Brentford FC boardroom, 22nd January 2007
Dear Supporters,
What fantastic news today about Matthew Benham taking over the loans from both Altonwood and Barclays! Matthew’s amazing generosity in making the loans interest free for the next 5 years gives the Club some much needed financial breathing space.
It does not however mean that the Club is out of the financial mire as our current operational loss is forecast to be around £500K for the season. The Club are now very focused on eliminating this deficit and is undertaking a “bottom up” budget for next season, where every single cost to the business will be examined and justified.
At the Leyton Orient game I was very pleased to present a cheque for £33K on behalf of the Fighting Chance Appeal. There were some individuals who chose to boo and heckle the presentation. I understand the frustration all supporters feel with our current League position because I feel it myself, but to boo the efforts of the supporters who are fighting for the Club is plain disrespectful.
Some of the booing was undoubted directed against Greg and myself as Club Chairman and Supporter Director. Of course we are both accountable for what happens at the Club and take our roles very seriously. There is a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes but this must be judged through results. Today’s piece of news is a good result but more needs to be delivered and the Club Board is committed to doing this.
After the presentation I took the opportunity to talk to one of the most vociferous hecklers and asked him what his solution was to the current situation. He told me he thought the Club should go into Administration so that we could “start again”, regardless of the Division/league that might take us.
Some say we are as good as relegated so take a ten point deduction now just like Rotherham did and with the financial benefit rebuild next season. Rotherham do not own their ground, so they do not have that asset to lose like us.
Going into Administration would be a disaster for the Club, as the Ground would be sold off (under its true value) to pay the creditors, including Matthew Benham. Although we would have no debt we would be left homeless and find ourselves in similar situation to where Wimbledon was about 10 years ago: the road to a slow, painful demise.
The argument also gets put forward that if we went into administration the Administrator would not have to sell the ground because he would find another buyer. This might happen, but will the buyer have the true interest of the Football Club at heart? Very unlikely. It is far more probable that the buyer would be a property developer who would be buying the Club to generate profit for himself from any stadium development rather than the Club.
Whilst the debt is a problem we at least do have security (i.e. the ground) to pay it back; of greater concern is our year-on-year losses. Unless we get a grip of this then the debt will continue to grow. Of course player sales and cup runs do introduce exceptional income which may cover some of this loss, although neither are guaranteed, but we should not hide from the fact that we are losing money. This is the reason we are undertaking this radical budget review.
Our best hope is to contain and drive down our losses whilst we secure a new ground. Moving into a new ground will not only enable the Club to play an increasing role in the Community, but also help us clear our debt and secure significantly more commercial income than we have today. This will give us a foundation to build our Club on and will enable us to compete financially with other Clubs in a sustainable way.
You have a vital role to play in sustaining the Club in the interim. You can do this in many ways but just coming to matches at Griffin Park makes a difference, as gate receipts are the Club’s main source of income. Also if you are not a member of Bees United please join and ideally take out a standing order. Saturday’s programme will have a lot more detail on why and how you can support the Club and the Trust.
Without longer-term support from you, efforts like Fighting Chance and Matthew Benham’s loan will have been for nothing.
Let's work together!
Jon Gosling
Comments can either be sent to me on or directly via comments page.
23rd January 2007