A statement from the Club Chairman, Stephen Henderson:
“On behalf of the board of directors, I am pleased to update our wider support base with information previously presented to our shareholders at a recent EGM and to outline a very important development for the club’s stability off the pitch.
The historic debt that the club had accrued is well documented. Approaching £1.7m, this debt came within a few hours of causing the winding up of the club due to unpaid tax, and VAT, before a benefactor stepped in to save our club. At this time, our remaining debt was restructured and the other remaining creditors presented with the board’s plan for paying this off over time. It was made abundantly clear to our directors, that the patience of these creditors was predicated on us running the club on sound business principles and balancing the books. Any expenditure seen to be overly speculative, was likely to have understandably led them to come looking for their money.
This comfort from our creditors remained in place until the collapse of the Stormont executive. With that, any potential for the release of and ability to bid for, money under the Sub Regional stadium strategy disappeared in the foreseeable future. Following this in the spring of 2018, one creditor, First Trust Bank, took the decision from their base in Dublin, to sell the debt on to a third party – Promontoria, a subsidiary company of Cerberus, the American Vulture Fund. First Trust did this in full knowledge of the likely drastic consequences for the club and also did so without prior warning to this club. Cereberus then sought full and immediate repayment of the debt. Unable to meet this immediate demand from Cash reserves, they initially seized control of the Oval Grounds - as they were allowed to do as a secure creditor – and locked the gates of the stadium in late September 2018. Unlike with HMRC in 2010, this did not cause a threat to the actual club itself, but clearly with no access to our stadium the situation was dire. We reached an agreement to repay the debt in full by 31 January.
The shareholders approved a plan to sell 1.02 acres of land to the Belfast Harbour Commission. This was land that was not being used at the stadium and did not impact upon either our current use or on the plans for the redevelopment of the stadium. I am pleased to confirm, that we have now completed this deal and have not only satisfied the debt to Cereberus in full, but have also paid off the second charge holder, Girona Developments and downpaid the third and final creditor. Some £600,000 of debt has therefore been discharged. The shareholders of the company have also approved a plan to satisfy the bulk of the remaining debt. This is likely to complete a process of reduction by over 90% of the debt that has been a millstone around the club’s neck for the past decade. Further news of this will be announced within the next few weeks.
As Glentoran supporters ourselves, we, just like you, want to see the best possible players represent our club, to win matches, preferably in an entertaining style and to add to this club’s illustrious history of winning trophies and competing in Europe. In recent years, we haven’t come close and this hurts.
As a board, the hardest thing throughout the period of time that we have been working to claw our way out of the financial abyss, has been to say no. But saying no to approving demands for wages that we knew we couldn’t afford, was something we had to do. We had to let our heads rule our hearts. The first duty of a board of Directors is to ensure that the club remains in existence and is handed on to the next generation in a better state than it was found.
Today we have taken a massive step forward in securing our future viability. This will have an impact on the resources available to strengthen the team for next season, because under the current Salary Cost Protocol rules, we will be allowed to spend a higher proportion of our turnover than previously. This does not mean that we will return to the reckless spending days of the past, we have swallowed too bitter a pill to allow that to happen, but with a modest trading profit in the last 5 consecutive years and now a substantial reduction in our debt, with more to hopefully follow very soon, the spectre of losing the club we all love, is slowly leaving East Belfast.
I finally want to thank our supporters. Your patience, your understanding and your tolerance despite results we are not used too over the last few years has been unstinting. There is no greater testament to the loyalty and commitment of the Glentoran Family than the fact that even this season we have recorded the second highest average attendance in the Danske Bank Premiership, both home and away. While we hope for and will work towards an immediate upturn in our on pitch fortunes, we can all now begin to look towards the future with more optimism as we seek to close the gap with the clubs currently outperforming us on the pitch. You deserve that reward for your loyalty, your faith and your pride in Glentoran Football Club”.
Le Jeu Avant Tout