Your Club and the Future Opportunities

Dear [[firstname]],

Last Wednesday 8th May we held two presentation events to inform members of the current state of your Club’s finances and then to open up discussion on your Boards’ aspirations for the future.
Thank you to the 60 or so people who made the time to attend and get involved.

I am pleased to say that membership numbers and subscription levels are holding up well, in fact slightly ahead of forecast.

The impact of higher electricity charges has put pressure on our profitability but the numerous small measures that we have taken in the first six months of the year will ensure that whilst we may still make a loss at the end of the financial year we will be moving in the right direction.

It will certainly be an improvement on the combined losses of £200k that we have incurred over the past two years.

We were asked about our future prices. Electricity is up for renewal in September, and we are already seeing slight reductions from the various quotes that we are gathering. We are also investigating the provision and benefits of putting additional solar panels on the Indoor Court roof. Our gas prices are fixed for another year.

We then moved on to the future.

My contention is that we cannot stand still otherwise we will be overtaken.
We must look to realise more value from areas of the Club ensuring that we can offer you our members a wider portfolio of activities and at the same time improving member retention.
We recognise the limitations that we have on parking space so there will not be a drive to increase numbers at all costs.
On the contrary a managed growth in numbers coupled with opening opportunities for non-members at off-peak times will be our focus.
There are a number of areas where we see opportunities for improvement, but all will require a significant input of capital to achieve them.
Over the past few years our reserves have declined and with outstanding CBIL (Covid Business Interruption) Loans still being paid off we are not in the position to approach banks for further loans.

So, this is an appeal to you our members to support your Club.

The projects in question that we are considering are -
1. Upgrade and Improvements to the Bar and Restaurant. Your Board considers this would be nice to have but under the present economic climate unlikely to bring significant benefits.
2. The provision of additional solar panels on the indoor tennis court roof. The existing panels have been a significant benefit to the club and with energy costs continuing to be a large element of our expenditure, we see this as a must do project.
3. Building an extension around the rear entrance to house a new reception and shop facility. We see this as a significant improvement to management of member flow and an improvement in security.
4. Replacing the 3 grass courts with 3 Padel courts and an all-weather tennis court. Padel is the fastest growing racket sport in the UK. Our research of other Clubs with similar facilities suggests that not only will this enhance membership, but it will also provide a valuable revenue stream. Whereas our current grass courts, whilst attractive in the summer sun, are a costly, relatively unused facility. We know that we can attract an interest free loan from the LTA, but we are still looking for a further £150k from other sources.

I spoke at the meeting of the generous legacy of £100k left to the Club by former member, the late, Derek (Chippy) Shreeve to provide disabled access. We will open the chairlift mid-June but sadly Derek will not be here to see it.

So, our appeal to you is this. If you do have an association with the Club and for whatever personal reason you are able to, and wish to, leave a legacy to the Club, then why not do it now?

Your pledge may be a donation, a debenture, an offer of an interest free loan, or a loan with repayment options. Nothing is off the table, and everything is up for discussion.

We will be happy to share more detail of our business plans but if you are willing to consider a pledge then please contact me directly by replying to this email or by phone on 07919 575891.

Thank you for your time.

This is your Club, the Board are only custodians of its management, the future is in your hands.

Best Regards
Steve Chilvers
Director and Chairman

15/05/2024

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