Board rejects call for strategic review, pointing instead to Celtic Connect
Resolution 16 at the upcoming Celtic PLC AGM on Tuesday 1st December calls on the Celtic Board to prepare a strategic review and a published report with a football, financial, and strategic plan (medium term I.e. 3-5 years)…
While this seems like a perfectly reasonable request from shareholders it will be rejected by Dermot Desmond and other Board friendly shareholding groups.
But board’s reasoning for rejecting this call for a strategic review is outlined below. They believed “such a level of detail would place the Company at a competitive disadvantage”. Instead, the Board will seek to improve communication through Celtic Connect – their newly formed fan engagement group, which effectively means that a small group of supporters, handpicked by the club will be responsible for marking the club’s homework and will no doubt include ‘happy clappers’, who appear to be in the minority among the Celtic support.
Celtic supporters groups including hundreds of individual supporters clubs and most of the organised supporters group such as Celtic Supporters Association, AICSC and many others will be excluded from Celtic Connect probably because of their membership of the Celtic Fans Collective.
Of the four proposals put forward by shareholders three will be rejected by the Celtic Board, including the request for a strategic review (Resolution 16).
However in their pre-AGM material the Celtic Board outlined their reasoning for voting against Resolution 16. They state:
‘The Board notes that there is a strategic report contained within the annual report (which is widely available and readily accessible), detailing key performance indicators (KPIs) that the Board and the Company have adopted and which reflect the Company’s strategic plan across the core aspects of its business both on and off the pitch.
‘These serve as appropriate metrics for which club performance is measured against on a regular basis. The strategic report also covers a number of areas, including engagement with stakeholders, a financial review and a review of the business as a whole.
‘The Board does not consider that a further strategic report beyond that which is set out in detail in the annual report, in particular a report containing forward-looking statements and financial information, is appropriate.
‘Indeed, to publish such a level of detail would place the Company at a competitive disadvantage and would not be a measure undertaken by a responsible board. The Board requires to retain discretion as to the information it publishes, both historically and forward-looking, so that it can act in the best interests of the Company and ensure it complies with all applicable regulatory obligations.
‘The Board acknowledges the importance of communicating its strategy to the wider support. The Company will seek to do this through its existing and new engagement channels, including Celtic Connect. Accordingly, the Board does not recommend that you vote in favour of this resolution.’
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