As part of the club’s objective to increase transparency, we wish to update fans on matters discussed at our full board meetings. As you will appreciate, it is not possible to post full minutes due to matters of confidentiality, however we hope the below summary from the board meeting held at the end of November proves useful.
Lincoln City Holdings
The Board approved and welcomed the purchase of 2,861,000 shares in Lincoln City Holdings, predominantly by the Jabara Family, with other shareholders also contributing.
Lincoln City Football Club
Finance
- iFollow is performing significantly below budget. It is believed this is largely due to sheer volume of illegal streaming that now takes place, including being widely advertised at a range of public venues.
- The rescheduling of the Oxford game presented a significant loss of revenue against budget.
- Forecasted losses continue to be above £3million and will be covered by share capital purchases.
Year End Audit
- The Board noted the Financial Statements to 30 June 2023.
- The Board noted the Consolidated Balance Sheet position at 30 June 2023.
- The Board delegated authority to the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) to complete the process with regard to finalisation.
- The Board reviewed the Going Concern assessment and confirmed they were content with it.
- The Board noted the audit position – unqualified with no modifications.
- The Board noted the Management Points.
The audit will be shared with shareholders and presented at the AGM, which will take place on Thursday 8 February.
Reform
The proposed ‘New Deal’ is still in discussion between the PL and EFL. Whilst there is plenty of ground to still cover, the board remain hopeful that a more sustainable pyramid will be created as a result of the host of changes under the ‘New Deal’ proposed arrangements.
Golden Share/FLR
The Working Group is close to completing formalities with supporter groups, where a Fans Share (Golden Share) will be provided to the fans, hosted by the Red Imps Community Trust.
Barnardo’s Safeguarding Audit (Academy)
This is now complete. We await the report, albeit the auditors provided positive initial feedback.
EFL Code of Practice (EDI) Audit
This is also now complete and the report is expected early into the New Year
Football update
A presentation was given by Liam Scully and Jez George on the recent Head Coach Selection process. A meeting of the Manager Succession Committee, which was involved in the process of selecting Michael Skubala, will be held in due course to evaluate the process and document any learning points.
Squad assessment and possible January activity will be reviewed ongoing and discussed with Michael in the December Football Executive Committee (FEXCO) meeting. The significant loss of iFollow revenue and other factors impacting the loss for the season will however restrain any ability to manoeuvre in the window.
Date of Next Meeting
29 February