Three years have passed since the supporters of Brentford Football Club took a controlling 60% stake in our Club from the previous owner. The Supporters' Trust, Bees United, made history at the beginning of 2006 when it became the Club's majority shareholder.
Years of commitment by many people too numerous to mention were behind what was a phenomenal achievement. They came in all shapes and sizes, and with a whole load of different affiliations, such as Lifeline, ABeeC, BIAS and finally Bees United. All of the Brentford supporters who played a part, however small, were justly proud of their contributions.
During the three years that have passed since, Brentford Football Club under Bees United's guidance has achieved many good things, of which more later. But what cannot be ignored is that Bees United inherited a mountain of debt when it took over, and three years later that mountain has grown even larger.
The peak of the debt mountain now stands at just over £9 million. This is nearly five-times the total annual income of Brentford Football Club. If the Club spent nothing at all for the next five years on players' wages, maintaining the pitch, lighting the ground, printing the programme, buying the kit, stocking the shop and a hundred other things, it would only just be able to pay this debt back.
Brentford Football Club at the moment takes in not much more than £2 million a season, depending on television and transfer windfalls. Yet it spends at least £2.5 million, and in the past often much more. This season it should lose about £0.5 million, and that will mean the debt mountain will grow to about £9.5 million. All of this debt has been secured against Griffin Park, which in the latest football club accounts is worth £10 million. You don't need to be an accountant to see that something has to change if we are to continue to survive.
When Bees United assumed control in January 2006, the architect of the deal, Brian Burgess, stood on the pitch and announced that but for the generosity of a few individuals, like Matthew Benham, the Club would have found itself in administration. It is a cause for celebration that three years later Brentford Football Club is flourishing in so many ways, both on and off the pitch.
Many people have commented, not least the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, on his recent visit to Brentford Football Club, that the Club's involvement in the local community is second to none. The “One Brentford” DVD that can be seen on the Bees United website shows how Brentford FC is a supporters-owned club which uses sport to promote education, health and social inclusion in the local community.
Today, people are proud to be associated with Brentford Football Club, whether they are involved with Brentford FC Sports Community Trust, the Griffin Park Learning Zone, Bees United, BIAS, Lifeline, the Club itself, or come along to Griffin Park at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon.
Standing under the new roof on the Ealing Road terrace, they can take pride in the fact that after decades of talking about it, the whole structure was erected on time and on budget.
They can also be proud that a move to a new stadium is getting ever closer. The land for the new stadium at Lionel Road has been secured and a new company has been formed to oversee the project. Supporters are rightly disappointed that Lionel Road will not be hosting Olympic teams in 2012, but in these difficult economic times the project is still inching forward, with the intention to prepare an outline planning application within the next few months.
And last, but not least, Brentford Football Club is again achieving success on the pitch. This is thanks both to our investment in the team and to stability on the football management and playing side of the Club, following the appointment of several disastrously unsuccessful managers.
Those appointments on the pitch were made worse by failures off it to implement the strong leadership and tight financial control required by Bees United to make ends meet. Relegation not only added significantly to the Club's debt, it has also shown that Brentford Football Club cannot currently balance its books in League Two.
Yet in many ways, Brentford Football Club is in a better shape today than it has been for many years. It is achieving success on the pitch under a bright young manager, and in the boardroom there is an ever-increasing focus on our finances. Bees United's directors, along with those on the Club's board, are united in their determination to build on the positive aspects of the first three years of Bees United's ownership.
Lionel Road still promises a sustainable future for Brentford Football Club. But it is many years off, and at the moment it is impossible to say how many. The Club is not sustainable as it stands today. But rest assured, the Bees United board is currently considering every possibility for tackling the debt mountain and running the club in a sustainable way, thus securing the future of Brentford Football Club.
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