So it's another Supporters' Trust?
That's right. There are now Supporters' Trusts established at nearly 200 League, Non-league and more recently Rugby League clubs throughout Britain. LOFT was one of the very first Trusts
to be established, back in 2001.
But what is a Trust?
A Supporters' Trust, like LOFT, is an independent, democratically-organised
supporters' organisation that seeks to represent the views of the fans to the Club and
help promote communication from the club to the fans. All Trusts are
formally-constituted legal bodies. LOFT, like many others, was formed as an Industrial and Provident Society, but following a change in the law is now a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.
What does that mean?
It means that there are rules that we have to follow and principles that we have to
uphold (our rules are available on the Downloads page). We have to abide by the legal requirements that are established for registered societies: we
have to have a constitution and a properly constituted structure. We are
compelled to be a not-for-profit organisation, to present accounts to the
Financial Conduct Authority, and to have an Annual General Meeting. Our Rules can only be changed once the FCA has agreed them. The Trust is owned by its members and run by a democratically-elected Board (usually called the committee), and holds public meetings.
And who makes sure that you do those things?
Well, the most important people that make sure that the Trust does as it is supposed to
are the members themselves. They make and approve policy, they elect a Board
and if they don't like them they'll kick them out and elect a new one. Then there is
the Financial Conduct Authority, who now ensures that all
registered societies - from the mammoth Co-Operative Society
down to the smallest Football Trust - act in accordance with the rules and
requirements that they've signed up to. LOFT has also appointed a number of Co-opted directors who act as Trustees and overseers, to ensure that
LOFT's work is proper and appropriate. And, of course, there is the Football Supporters' Association (the FSA),
who ensure that all the supporters' trusts are working properly and legally.
The FSA? Who are they?
The FSA is the national, democratic, representative body for football supporters in England and Wales. Formed out of the merger of Supporters Direct (established by government in 2000) and the Football Supporters' Federation, they are an inclusive, independent, democratic organisation working with supporters, governing bodies, leagues and clubs to drive positive change in football through supporter engagement at every level of the game. They're responsible for making sure that fans
have the resources and information required to establish Trusts. They negotiate with
the clubs, lobby the authorities and generally support the Trust movement. You can read more about the FSA's role and achievements at their website https://thefsa.org.uk/about/.
OK, so LOFT is a properly-established and regulated body, but why establish
one at Leyton Orient?
We created LOFT back in 2001 because a number of fans believed that there was a need for an
independent supporters' organisation that could articulate the views of Orient
supporters, lobby the club and provide the basis for some element of fan ownership of
the football club. At the time Barry Hearn was the owner of Leyton Orient, and had made clear his
objectives and commitment to the club. We weren't formed with the express purpose of trying to replace him at all -
indeed, he was a guest at a number of our meetings - but we did want to be there for the
day when he decided that he'd had enough and was selling up. That day came, with the sale of the club to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti in July 2014.
The decline of the club and our actions since the takeover are well-documented in the news articles on this website. Suffice it to say that we were right all those years ago to form a Trust and to keep it operational during the years when many questioned what the point was...
And we were right to stand up for the Orient against a clearly-unsuitable owner, when some said we should not "bite the hand that feeds us" and "be careful what you wish for". We learned early on of the attempts by long-term fan Nigel Travis to form a consortium to buy the club, and we did our part in helping mobilise the fanbase, campaign in the media and keep the pressure on from the shareholder side of things, until at last the club was sold on 22 June 2017.
Looking back at those times, from the position of a rejuvenated club uner an ownership that has supporter engagement at its heart, it might be easy to think a supporters' trust isn't needed any more. We disagree, as the past shows that LOFT needs to be a part of the future of the club. Even apart from the club's own recent past, the number of clubs in trouble up and down the country - and the many cases where self-serving and unscrupulous people have bought
and run clubs for their own benefit - serve as a constant reminder that we need to think as much about the future as we do the present. The stronger the involvement of the fans in the life and ownership of their clubs, the stronger their
voice, their powers of scrutiny and their ability to ensure that their clubs are run properly.
The likes of Bury and Macclesfield stand as warnings of how badly it can go wrong. After the trauma, it's always the fans who are left to pick up the pieces, and who generally who end up owning and/or running the club through their own Trust.
Owners come and go, but fans are forever...
Did you want to take over the Football Club?
Prior to 2017, the answer to that question was always 'no' - it simply wasn't realistic or necessary in the situation at that time. Financial events at clubs that were formerly owned by their Trusts (Stockport County and Rushden & Diamonds) showed that supporter-ownership is just as fraught with dangers as traditional single ownership. We were content to be a 'critical friend' to the club and to promote share ownership and a representative, democratic Trust that speaks with a
loud voice. To that end, LOFT had bought a total of over 4,600 shares in club share issues.
In early 2017, with the club's very existence under threat from a seemingly-absent owner who wasn't paying the bills, we did our best to prepare for the worst (liquidation of the club) while hoping for the best. If that had been the only way to secure a Leyton Orient Football Club for the future, yes we would have had to take over the club. There's no football without the O's. But since the takeover in 2017, it's thankfully once again a question that can easily be answered 'no'.
What happened to the Regeneration Fund?
That money is protected and subject to a vote of our members every year on whether to retain or repurpose it. See our Regeneration Fund page for further details.
What was the point of buying shares in the club?
It meant that, at the very least, there is a small part of Leyton Orient that is owned
collectively by the fans, with the shares held - in Trust - in their name. They can
never be sold for profit and it further cements the role of fans in the life of the club. Most importantly, however, it
meant that we put money into the club in exchange for a tangible share in the
ownership of the club.
But why? Such a small shareholding means that you can't do anything.
It means that the fans - collectively - have a stake in the club, and as shareholders have the right to be represented at General Meetings (AGMs are no longer a legal requirement), have a
right to the accounts, to question the Directors and be treated with the respect that
businesses generally accrue to their shareholders. We became active participants, not
moaners and critics on the sidelines. If you become a LOFT member then you
automatically 'part-own' a bit of your football club. If our stake increases then our influence will increase proportionately. But because the shares are held
collectively rather than individually, it means that the fans can begin to punch their
weight together, rather than just be individual voices that too often get ignored.
But I'm already a shareholder.
Good for you. You've made a real financial contribution to the life of your club, and
no doubt you've no expectation or desire to take money out of the club in dividends or
profit. You can hang onto your shares, but if you want to help strengthen the Trust
you've got a couple of options. You could transfer some or all of your shareholding
into the Trust's name, or you could sign over a proxy that allows us to represent you
at an General Meeting. Contact treasurer@leytonorientfanstrust.com if you want to talk about this some more.
What about the Supporters Club then? Are you trying to replace it?
Absolutely not. Many LOFT members are also members of the Supporters Club, and
everyone recognises what an excellent job the Supporters Club does. LOFT's aims
and objectives are different from anything the Supporters Club does, however, and we
firmly believe that there is a role for the two organisations at Leyton Orient, each
working in different spheres. We can't do what the Supporters Club does, and there's
no need for us to try when they do it so well, but similarly we can do things that they
simply can't do at the moment.
Please explain.
Well, we explicitly invite people to join LOFT to get involved in the issues that
concern the fans and to act as a voice for their interests. That often means talking to
the club, lobbying the club's officials, liaising the FA and Football League, campaigning amongst the fans, representing the supporters' views to local
politicians and media, and working with other national and local football groups on
supporter issues generally. The Supporters Club doesn't do most of those things and, quite
rightly, doesn't try, because that's not what it is there for and that's not why people
join it. It doesn't have a mandate from the people who've joined it - many of whom
are quite legitimately only interested in the social aspects of the Supporters Club - nor
does it have the properly-constituted legal structure of a Trust that allows it to do it
properly.
The Trust is a completely independent organisation and doesn't depend on the club for premises or facilities, which means that we can speak our mind, and if need be publicly disagree with the Club, without jeopardising our very existence.
But isn't it confusing having two organisations? Wouldn't it be better to work
within the Supporters Club?
Only if you believe that 'hostile takeovers' are the right way to operate and if you're
prepared to ignore the fact that there's no mandate from the members for the
Supporters Club to take on the sorts of issues that the Trust is concerned with. We've
got too much respect for them and their work to do that, and we don't think it
necessary when the two organisations have such distinct roles and objectives. We've
a friendly and co-operative relationship with the Supporters Club, one of our external directors is a Supporters Club committee member, so we can attend each other's meetings. We have worked together well on subjects like the club's Fans' Forum, we're happy to be a friend to all Orient supporters' groups.
Any more questions? Contact LOFT for more information.