The Arsenal Fanshare Society has been established by the Arsenal Supporters' Trust (AST) as part of its objective to widen supporter ownership, representation and influence at Arsenal.
The Arsenal Fanshare Society Board (you can find their profiles below) is currently made up by Arsenal fans who are members of the Arsenal Supporters' Trust. The Board members have experience in key areas such as company law, marketing and communications, legislation and political representation, accountancy, project management and financial services that will contribute to the good running of the Arsenal Fanshare. All of the Board members volunteer their time to the Society and do not receive any fees or remuneration for their work.
Arsenal Fanshare Society is an Industrial and Provident Society regulated by the Financial Services Authority. It will oversee the operation and management of the Arsenal Fanshare scheme. It is not a campaigning body and will not have members' meetings and/or events in the same way that the Arsenal Supporters' Trust does although it will hold an AGM each year.
The Arsenal Fanshare Annual General Meeting ('AGM') will be held at Nabarro LLP, Lacon House, 84 Theobald's Road, London WC1X 8RW on 16 January 2012 at 6.00 p.m. This is the second Annual General Meeting of the AFS. If you are a member of the AFS you will be receiving a separate email about the Annual General Meeting from Equiniti. This email will enable you to vote electronically in respect of the resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting and you will not need to attend the meeting itself.
The meeting is for statutory purposes only so it is intended to be a short formal meeting to deal with the adoption of the Accounts and to allow the AFS to obtain an exemption from a professional who audited the Accounts in accordance with section 4A of the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968. This provision allows Societies with a turnover of less than £5.6 million and a balance sheet of less than £2.8 million to dispense with a costly full audit and instead provide an independent non statutory accountant's report by HMT Assurance LLP, a firm registered to carry out audit work in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. HMT carry out the same non statutory audit last year. The Board of the AFS would ask that members vote in favour of this resolution as it saves the AFS significant costs and expenses which can otherwise be used for the benefit of the Fanshare Scheme. The resolution also seeks the same authority for the following year. Clearly the AFS Board is satisfied with the non statutory audit which is also being carried out in accordance with the AFS Rules and if acceptable to the Financial Services Authority. There is no requirement to propose any other resolutions at the Annual General Meeting and it is not believed there will be any other business to transact.
To read the rules of being an Arsenal Fanshare Society member, check the rules.
The Arsenal Supporters' Trust will continue to play an important role in representing the views of Arsenal shareholders and supporters to the Club and championing more involvement for supporters in the ownership structure of the club, including the success of the Fanshare scheme. The Arsenal Fanshare Society encourages all of its members and Arsenal supporters to join the AST as well the AFS.
What is the Arsenal Supporters' Trust (AST)?
The AST works with its members, Arsenal executives, the Club's Board, major shareholders and other Arsenal supporters' groups to help build Arsenal into a world class sporting institution. Enabling more supporters to own a part of Arsenal is one of the founding aims of the AST.
The AST received legal advice that under current financial legislation it needed to establish a separate not-for-profit organisation to run this scheme and accordingly it has established the Arsenal Fanshare Society. The AST and the AFS are separate legal organisations and have different, although complimentary, objectives, functions and responsibilities.
Who's Who in Arsenal Fanshare
Jim Knight
Lord Jim Knight of Weymouth is a former cabinet minister, having served as schools and employment minister. He is currently the shadow employment minister in the House of Lords. As a minister he worked with Arsenal to promote their community education work and the anti-racism work with young people. Jim has been a trustee on various bodies and is currently a trustee of the eLearning Foundation. He has been an Arsenal fan since 1970 when he was five and growing up in London.
Jim was a regular on the North Bank in his teens and his best Arsenal memories are of Chippy Brady's team of the late seventies and Tony Adams' 1998 team and goal v Everton.
Tim Payton
Tim Payton is a communications adviser, specialising in corporate and public affairs in the sports world. He has worked with organisations including the Premier League, Football Association, England and Wales Cricket Board and London 2012. One of his areas of expertise is the governance arrangements of sporting organisations and the interface of sports teams with supporters.
Tim grew up in Islington where he attended the club's local school, Highbury Grove Comprehensive. He became a season ticket holder at age eleven in 1984 - the first year that season tickets were introduced for juniors - then costing £25 for the entire season.
Martha Silcott
Martha Silcott has worked in the financial services industry for 18 years. After running her own IFA firm in the City for 7 years she then was instrumental in creating the UAR (Unclaimed Assets Register) owned by Experian which allows people to be re-united with their 'lost' money. She left Experian in 2008 and joined Capita Plc in a business development role in the Life and Pensions sector.
Martha has been an Arsenal season ticket holder since 1998 and is a member of the AST. Some of her best Arsenal moments are being at Old Trafford in the "winners enclosure" when Arsenal won the double in 2002, FA Cup victory against Newcastle in '98 at the old Wembley, Thierry Henry's famous goal against Spurs. Lowest point was being beaten by Barca in the Champions League final in Paris in the pouring rain.
Glyn Taylor
Glyn is a founder member of the Arsenal Supporters Trust and also a founder member of the Arsenal Fanshare Society Limited. He is a senior corporate partner at Nabarro LLP, one of the UK's largest law firms. He is responsible for legal and compliance issues for the AST and the AFS and takes primary responsibility for the rules of the AFS and the Fanshare Scheme itself.
Glyn has been an Arsenal fan since 1970, is an Arsenal shareholder and bond holder and sits on the halfway line on the upper tier at the Emirates. His first Arsenal game was the 1971 FA Cup Final with seats in the Liverpool end which cost £1.50 each and which his Dad managed to get from a tout!
Juraj Pekar
Juraj comes from Slovakia from where he supported Arsenal since the mid nineties. His long distance relationship with Arsenal changed for the better in 2004 following his move to England when he began a career in an accountancy practice followed by a move into financial services in 2008. Juraj currently works for BlueBay Asset Management plc in fund accounting and takes on the role of Arsenal Fanshare Society Treasurer.
Juraj's most memorable match is Arsenal's 7:0 win over Middlesbrough back in 2006 when Thierry Henry equalled Cliff Bastin's record of 150 club league goals. He particularly recalls the fantastic atmosphere in Highbury that day and hopes that Emirates will start to produce a similar spirit for years to come.
Peter Drew
Peter has worked in the financial services industry all his working life, nearly 40 years. His current duties include Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering responsibilities. He has managed in retail banking, sports and wealth management. Peter is a member of the AST and has been an Arsenal season ticket holder since 1984. Originally on the Clock end, Then the East stand at Highbury and now a West stand regular at the Emirates, getting closer to the bench each time . He is a second generation fan, where third and fourth generations follow He recalls the double in 1971, when his Dad told him “it doesn’t get better than this” and is pleased to report that it does, with the club now competing at a higher level, with more doubles, trophies won and regular Champions League contention.
Contact the Arsenal Fanshare Board: board@arsenalfanshare.com
