Since the Stated Meeting in June there has been a lot of activity in the Company, particularly on some of our strategic objectives, and I thought that you might be interested to hear some of the highlights.
At our last meeting, I outlined some of the issues which have been impacting the Company and I set out the main steps of our recovery plan, firstly towards achieving a sustainable financial model and, secondly, in modernising the way we run the Company.
I am pleased to report that over the summer we have made good progress on our financial plan and I would like to highlight three important factors in that.
Firstly, we have revisited the recharging arrangements through which the Company recovers some of the costs incurred in supporting the various constituent parts of the Merchant Company family. Going forward, the new arrangements will result in a significant increase in income to the Company and I am grateful to the trustees and office bearers of the schools, the Education Board, the Endowments Trust, the Retirement Benefits Scheme and the Widows Fund for their support and understanding in agreeing these changes.
The second change that has been implemented over the summer is the appointment of Hickory as our exclusive catering and events partner for the Hall. Prior to appointing Hickory, we had been running events on an in-house basis and, as every year passed, that was becoming more and more difficult to do successfully. In the last 15 years we made a financial loss on our events and Hall lettings business more often than we made a profit, and we were also taking risks in terms of health & safety, compliance and reputation. It was essential to make changes as the position we were in was simply not sustainable.
Hickory are an award winning, market leading, Edinburgh based organisation and the Court firmly believes that, by entering a revenue sharing partnership with them, we will not only significantly reduce the risks to the Company but we will also improve the quality of our events, we will remove any risk of a financial loss, and we will significantly enhance the prospects of achieving a favourable financial out turn.
Hickory are providing the catering this evening and following the meeting will be making a short presentation to members about their business and food offering and will be available for questions afterwards.
As with any change programme, there has been some uncertainty and concern about the new arrangements, and this hasn’t been helped by one or two teething problems as the new system beds down. But these are just teething problems and I want to stress that no part of the Company should be disadvantaged by the new arrangements. The Secretary will be pleased to speak with anyone who is thinking about holding an event here in the Hall and will ensure that Company bookings with Hickory work smoothly.
The third piece of good financial news that I want to mention today is an exceptionally generous donation which has been made to the Company by Sir Ewan and Lady Christine Brown. Gifted over a 3 year period, the donation will be extremely useful as we work through our financial recovery plan, and we owe Ewan and Christine a huge debt of gratitude. As many of you know, Ewan is not someone who publicises his good charitable works but he did give me permission to mention this donation in the hope that it may encourage others to think along similar lines! Thank you very much indeed to Ewan and Christine for their generosity.
In addition to turning round our finances, the Secretary and her team have also been working hard on modernising our various systems. Much of this is ‘under the bonnet’ type work and the benefits are not always immediately visible, but I can assure you that they are very much there. Much of the heavy lifting in our modernisation programme has now been done: We have a new finance system in place. Our Membership databases have been consolidated and are now accurate. We are now compliant in Health & Safety, first aid, and fire regulations. An IT audit has been carried out and the Secretary is now actioning a new IT plan. This includes tackling GDPR and cyber security risks. We have undertaken and addressed building risk assessements for our Hanover Street properties and a Planned & Preventative Maintenance programme is being prepared. Our monthly email newsletter is working well and is being consistently opened by between 72 and 74% of our membership. That compares with an average rate of 21% for membership organisations, so it is clearly being well received.
As with any change programme, not everything has gone 100% to plan and work is still ongoing on lots of fronts. There are a number of areas where improvement is still required and the Treasurer and I are working on these with the Secretary. While very good progress has been made, we are not there yet. At the same time, we need to remember that we have a very small executive team (it’s the smallest that I can remember in my time as a member) and certain things have had to wait in line until they can be tackled. Our executive team is very well led by the Secretary and I want to record our thanks and congratulations to Susan and her team for the huge progress which has been made over the last year or so.
In addition to the Secretary having had a busy summer, some of our committees have also been busy.
Over the last year the Charities and Archive & Treasures committees have worked with our schools to promote a Portraiture Competition and it turned out to be a great success. More than 300 paintings and photographs were entered into the competition and a prizegiving was held here in the Hall last month, with the prizes being funded from various of our charities. Around 100 pupils, parents and staff came along and it is clear that the portraiture competition has been a big hit. Vince Mason and his team have already agreed with the schools that it will be held again next year. Congratulations to everyone involved in this great initiative.
The archives and treasures committee have also been active this summer in having the Company’s original royal charter document restored. The charter dates from 1681 and, until recently, had been stored in the vaults here in the Hall, rolled up in a cylinder. It has been carefully restored and, going forward, will be stored in appropriate, controlled conditions, probably in the city archives. I am delighted to tell you that it will be available for members to view, on a one time only basis, at the AGM on 2nd November and, at that time, Old Master Ian Watson, the chair of the archives & treasures committee, will explain more fully the restoration project and the significance of the document. I hope that as many members as possible will come along to see it.
I have previously reported on our new Community Grants Scheme, which was launched by the Endowments Trust earlier this year with the help of the Princess Royal. You will remember that the main purpose of the scheme is to help community projects across Edinburgh through the award of financial grants of up to £5,000 per project, with a total of £50,000 per annum being earmarked for the first 3 years. The scheme went live for its first round of applications in August and I am delighted to tell you that 44 applications were received in the first week. 25 of these satisfy the main criteria and our Grants Committee are now working with the scheme’s administrators, Foundation Scotland, to select the first group of beneficiaries. The first round of awards will be made before the end of the year. So the scheme really has got off to a flying start, which is great news.
The summer is a quiet time on the social side of the Company but the membership committee still managed to hold a wonderful cocktail making evening at the Alchemist in the St James Quarter and I can testify that that was great fun and very much enjoyed by everyone who attended.
We have a number of social events coming up before the end of the year and I want to encourage as many of you as possible to take part in them. In 2 weeks time we have our main formal event of the year – our Charter Dinner – when we will welcome guests not only from across Edinburgh, but also from livery companies from across the whole of the UK.
On Friday 8th December we have our members and guests Christmas Dinner. Tickets are on sale for this event now so please support it if you can.
Finally on the membership front, there is a reception for prospective members being held here in the Hall next Monday evening 9th October, so if you know anyone who might be interested to find out more about the Company, please invite them along. There is a registration form on the website.
The role of Master is a busy one and, at certain times demanding, but it is not without its perks. Over the summer I represented the Company at a number of enjoyable events in Edinburgh and elsewhere. In July I was honoured to represent the Company at a service of thanksgiving at St Giles to celebrate the coronation of King Charles and I was delighted that Graham Macdonald, our Company Officer, also attended the event as a member of the Peoples Procession.
In August I, along with a number of Company members, attended a meeting with HRH the Duke of Edinburgh at the City Chambers, which was followed by a meeting with the Duke here in the Hall. It was an excellent opportunity for HRH to learn about the Merchant Company and what we do, and I hope that we will be able to welcome him to the Hall again in the future.
So, as you can tell, the business of the company is continuing at pace and all of our committees are very busy. There are a few vacancies on certain of the committees, so if you are interested in getting more involved, please look up the website for details. As with any membership organisation, there is a direct correlation between what you put in and what you get out, so please do get involved.
Thank you.
Alan Robertson, Master