An Update from Pars United

We're extremely conscious that a lot has happened in recent weeks and months and that there are lots of questions being asked by Pars fans

We're extremely conscious that a lot has happened in recent weeks and months and that there are lots of questions being asked by Pars fans so we sat down with Bob Garmory, Ian Hunter and Ross McArthur from Pars United and Margaret Ross from the Pars Supporters Trust to find out more about what has happened since BDO held the Creditors Meeting in late July.

There must be lots to tell the Pars fans about where the efforts to finally take full control of the club are?  There are certainly quite a few questions that the fans are keen to know the answers to.

Ian: Yes. It's been a long and difficult month since the CVA agreement was passed by the club's creditors and we know that there are lots of questions rightly being asked. As a quick update on the current position, there has been a lot of work undertaken to get us to the point where Pars United finally take control of the club. That still hasn't happened yet but we're confident it will happen soon. 

What is certainly clear to everyone who has been working really hard to get us over the line is that it's not been a straightforward task and, to be frank, it has been a frustrating time for everyone involved. On behalf of Pars fans I can't thank everyone enough for their continued support and patience and getting us all to this point.

But, and it's a big but, the thing that is very clear to us all is that there is so much still to be done if Dunfermline Athletic is to have a short, medium and long term future. The truth is, the pain isn't going to go away for some time yet. 

What do you mean by that? 

Bob: We all need to be under no illusion that our club is now fixed. 'Save the Pars' and' Buy the Pars' were only efforts to keep the club alive and to avoid it slipping into liquidation and maybe lost forever. To use a well-worn clich?, the hard work really does start now.

The club is still in a very distressed state and it will take the rest of the current season (2013/14) to get a full and robust handle on all the day-to-day matters and to start to run the club both efficiently and, importantly, at a level appropriate to the level we're competing at. Every week we seem to be finding further issues to resolve.

The way the club was run in the past was simply unsustainable and given what we now see within the inner workings of the club it was inevitable that we all found ourselves in the situation that we've all had to pull together in the last few months to save our club.

One of the main priorities is to maximise the playing budgets and give Jim Jefferies every support possible in order to move the club back up the leagues, in the first instance to the Championship.

What this will need is for every cost incurred at the club to be examined and challenged. We have to drive down costs wherever possible, as the existing cost structure, as we know, is not sustainable. 

Sounds worrying. So when will ownership pass to Pars United and when will it start to make the decisions?

Bob: It is worrying but we mustn't lose the positive attitude from everyone who helped save the club and get us to where we are now. It was an incredible effort and we are in a great position to keep that going and look positively to the future. No-one should underestimate what has been achieved so far and everyone should be rightly proud. As I keep reminding my colleagues, the club was an hour and a half from being liquidated, but even now it is still on a life support machine.

Ian: In terms of ownership of the club, it's difficult to say exactly when control will pass to Pars United but the fact is we are a considerable way through the process of finalising two separate, but linked, purchase contracts so we are hopeful it won't be too much longer. The first process is the one to buy the club from BDO and the second one is to buy the stadium from KPMG. The hold-up is that there are a number of things in our offer that BDO requires to attend to but good progress has been, and continues to be, made and we expect them to be sorted out before the end of September.

Can you say what the things are that are holding the sale up?

Ian: We can't go into detail at this stage but we are very confident that they won't delay things too much longer.

Margaret: What is really positive is that BDO informed us in the last few days that the CVA appeal period had expired with no objections so it will proceed on the basis agreed back at the 30th July creditors' meeting. If someone had objected it would have put our efforts way back again so it's really good to know that won't happen.

So who is actually running the club just now? Is it Pars United or BDO?

Ian: The club is still controlled by BDO and it's really important that the supporters know that. They are still making the day to day commercial and operational decisions. Pars United has no control over those matters and we won't until ownership is finally transferred to us.

Pars United has requested that we be allowed to contribute more to the day to day running of the club and we are hopeful that this involvement will increase as the completion date approaches but, until both acquisitions are complete BDO and KPMG will remain in charge of both the club and the ground.

So what will the plans be once ownership passes to Pars United?

Ross: There is a strong business plan that is, and has to be, a live document which is being updated and revised constantly as we obtain more and more information which we haven't had before. 

It is our intention to post an overview of this on the club's web-site after the deal is complete, although we know that people will understand that some sensitive information must necessarily be kept confidential. 

In short however, in addition to reducing and controlling costs, we simply must increase our revenue and income generation from advertising, corporate sponsorship and hospitality. Looking at this source of income over recent years is extremely worrying and to be blunt, and probably surprising to many, it has actually contributed very little to the club's coffers and in certain situations it appears that some of this activity has effectively cost the club money. That simply cannot continue.

There have been reports and rumours about staff being made redundant. What is the situation there?

Bob: As you'd expect it wouldn't be right to comment on anyone individually but yes, there have been people who have unfortunately been casualties of past regimes and the situation the club is now in. For fear of repeating ourselves, the club needs to drastically cut costs if it is to have the best chance of surviving and building on its future. As a club in the third tier of Scottish football, the club cannot afford to have the levels of staff that have historically been employed here. It's simply not an option; the club doesn't have enough money.

All of that said, we are very sorry that anyone has found themselves out of work and everyone's thanks must go to them for all their involvement in the club. Everyone in that situation has always had the Pars at heart but it's a terrible reflection of the financial situation the club is now in.

So, if staff are being let go who is going to carry out the jobs that are needed?

Ross: ?The Pars fans have already shown their resolve and support for saving the club and that needs to continue going forward. We've got a support that is full of skills and expertise that will benefit the club and we need as many volunteers from the wider support as possible.

A Volunteers Register is to be set up within the next few weeks and will be managed from within the club. Once we can determine what exactly needs to be done, requests will be made to the wider fan base to come forward with their skills, knowledge or time. 

It is important to emphasise that all of those within Pars United are volunteers and unpaid. We are fortunate to have several experienced business people within Pars United who have agreed to take on part-time executive roles within the club for no salary, including that of General Manager.

So far we've benefitted from an enviable amount of professional, financial, property and legal expertise from within Pars United and the wider Pars Family and without their thousands of hours of time, money, and commitment, there is little doubt that DAFC would not have survived. 

So what do you want the wider fan base to do now?

Ross: Firstly, we know many supporters are becoming frustrated with the delay, so we would ask them to please remain patient for the next few weeks. The "macro" issues we have had to deal with over the last few months are nearly out of the way, we will shortly be able to start dealing with the "micro" operational issues, which are naturally more visible to supporters.

Nonetheless, one of the key parts of a community club is whereby fans encourage other fans to inspire positive change, by involving supporters in initiatives.

Pars United are very keen to improve the match day experience for fans, so a group of supporters has already been tasked with the important role of surveying the wider fan base, and is working on an ideas forum to coordinate creative thinking around this area. Further details of this initiative will be announced soon.

In addition, it is vitally important that everyone continues to contribute towards raising funds for the club this season. Discussions have already taken place with a broad range of supporters who have assisted the club with fund raising activities since DAFC went into administration, to explain the need for this to continue. 

Further meetings will take place with other fans who have contributed during this period. We want to allow fans the freedom and flexibility to do what they want to raise money for DAFC, whilst ensuring that there is a degree of co-ordination. A central diary of events will be maintained to avoid duplications and to maximise the promotion of the events. 

A vital part of the new DAFC also involves greater involvement in the community and schools, and Pars United intends to make strides in this area over the coming weeks, once it has consulted with a number of stakeholders, along with other football clubs.

Are you saying that fundraising needs to continue?

Margaret: Yes, without question. We exceeded our minimum £500,000 fund raising target for 'Buy the Pars' but a key component of our plan has always been the third phase to follow 'Save the Pars' and 'Buy the Pars'. This is 'Keep the Pars'. 

The target for 'Keep the Pars' is £150,000 in season 2013/14. 

We fully appreciate that many supporters will be feeling a little weary with the need for further fund raising efforts, but it is absolutely crucial that this continues, to allow the club to survive in the third tier of Scottish football. 

We've already said it but there is a huge amount of hard work to be done over the coming months to ensure the club can become sustainable. What we have all achieved so far is an opportunity to do this, not the end result. 

And has fundraising started yet?

Ross: Yes, work is already underway organising a full and interesting programme of fund-raisers over the coming season, and further details of the events will be announced soon. In addition to cost cutting measures which will need to take place, the funds raised by supporters through their own initiatives and the big fund raising events currently being planned, we are looking at a number of other ideas.

We're seeking additional direct contributors as "Patrons", once the club comes out of administration. When that happens, we can accept donations, in return for shares, for a minimum amount of £1,000, a fraction of the original £5000 figure during the 'Buy the Pars' so we hope that those who felt that £5000 was too much will be attracted by this level. We're also looking to work with The Centenary Club and The Pars Supporters Trust to develop monthly contribution schemes to finance the club.

One really important area where we can all make a huge difference is by encouraging friends and family along to East End Park. We're budgeting for an average attendance of 2,500 for this coming season (with the exception of the visits of Rangers), so an extra few hundred extra "walk up" fans for each home game will contribute massively to 'Keep the Pars'. If we could attract an additional 300 people through the gates at each home game we'd add at least £50,000 to the club's income which would make a tremendous difference. 

It sounds like there's a lot to look forward to but also a lot to be concerned about?

Bob: That's a fair summary. What the Pars fans have done over the last few months has caught the attention of clubs and supporters groups across the country. We should never lose sight of that and of what we've collectively done for our club and the community.

But, to reiterate again, the club is still in a very precarious position and the more time we spend looking at the club and how it has been run in the past the more we realise that there is going to be a lot of tough decisions required and a lot of change around East End Park.

What we are determined to do is back Jim Jefferies and the team fully, and provide everything we can to make us competitive on the park and to do that we all need to continue to back the club by offering our skills and our time, by continuing to fundraise and by turning up (with a friend or two) every time we're playing at East End Park.

Margaret: We'll make every effort to allow the club to be transparent, something we don't think it always has been in the past, but it's worth bearing in mind that being transparent isn't just about bringing good news.

When can we expect further updates?

Bob: We'll make every effort to make them on a regular basis. The next one will be around the completion of the two deals. We'll be in a position then to talk about the governance issues including the composition of the DAFC interim Board for this coming season and the financial structure.

We'll also explain how the Board of Dunfermline Athletic FC will be elected for a three year period from 2014/5, and why an interim Board needed to be appointed for this season. We also want a further general meeting of supporters to happen and that will be planned for October.