West of Scotland Kart Club

Transcription

1 West of Scotland Kart Club Following the Notice issued on 21 st December calling for an EGM at 1.00pm on the 19 th January at the WSKC Club House please find the following finalised Agenda and supporting documents. The subject of the EGM is extremely important and represents a major reorganisation of your club. Your committee urge you to make every effort to attend in order that your opinion can be heard. This is an exciting new direction for us all at WSKC and it is important that any decision made has the support of the members. We are already the Number 1 club in Scotland and these plans will secure WSKC as a major force in British Karting and take us on our way to the Number 1 position in the UK. AGENDA 1 Approve a plan to create a new corporate structure involving the creation of WSKC Limited. 2 Approve a plan to seek external funding by loan or other methods a. Proposal presented by the WSLC Committee. An outline business loan of up to 100,000 provided by Clydesdale Bank PLC has been obtained in order to finance the immediate plans to proceed with work to implement a series of Track Improvements. These improvements will incorporate an improved Track Layout in accordance with the members choice at item 3. The initial stages of track realignment will be followed by a commitment to develop corporate karting, Further information will be presented to the meeting b. Proposed by Moulsdale Properties A Presentation will be made by Mr David Moulsdale for his plans to incorporate the venue at Merryton Road, Larkhall into his organisation. There will be substantial investment by his organisation. It will also show how the interests of the West of Scotland Kart Club and its members will be preserved. The presentation will show how the Track Improvements, as decided by the meeting at Item 3, will be achieved and the ongoing relationship between WSKC and Moulsdale Properties. 3 Choose one of two Approved a layout for track improvements having consideration for any requirements of Motorsport UK and or our insurers Two choices of Motorsport UK approved Track Layouts will be presented (see below) and members will be asked to vote on either Option One or Option Two. 4 Approve the appointment of Neil Leishman as WSKC secretary. Neil Leishman has been co-opted as Secretary for WSKC and the meetings endorsement is sought

2 The Agenda above was first published on 21 st December 2018, but with the meeting s permission Item 4 will be taken first. Please note that due to the main Alpha Database automatically closing memberships at the end of the year and the ability to send out s to members ceasing, this is being sent from the treasurer s address. Replies will not be read, but should you have any questions then please contact the chairman, Michael Smith chairman@wskc.co.uk Please read the following documents

3 INTRODUCTION from David Moulsdale I am David Moulsdale and I have been a member of WSKC for many years. My son Angus Moulsdale commenced his racing career at Larkhall when he joined the club over 7 years ago. Angus was WSKC IAME Cadet Club Champion in 2014 & We learned a great deal at Larkhall and he has benefitted from his early experiences. He has gone on to become the IAME Junior X30 RGMMC European Champion in Angus moved up to Senior X30 at the beginning of 2018 whilst he was only 14 years old. Despite racing against many of the best Senior X30 drivers in Europe he won several races last year. In May, at Mariembourg, he won the 1st round of the Belgian Championship. In June he won a round of the German Championship, his first ever night race, at Wackersdorf and in August he won both Finals in the ADAC German Kartmasters at Wackersdorf. In August, Angus and I are both very grateful to have had the benefit of WSKC being only 30 minutes from his home. There is no doubt that this helped him develop his driving skills in the early years. Unfortunately, due to the decline in numbers on both practice days and at the club meetings, there is simply no point or benefit in us now coming to Larkhall. I know that this is also true for many other members and ex member drivers. That said, we are all here as there is a real and serious threat to the future of our club and this track, due to the underinvestment and other reasons which I will explain during the course of my presentation. My Business & Personal Interests 1. Eyecare & Healthcare Sector. 2. Property Investment, Development & Construction. 3. Hospitality, Conferences & Events. 4. Philanthropy. 5. Motorsport, Golf & Racket Sports. I qualified as an optician in 1988 and started Optical Express in 1989, initially with a business partner. However, I bought him out in early Earlier than most retailers in the Optical sector I saw the demise of the high street and the change in consumer behaviours, with more and more people opting to have laser vision or lens replacement surgery rather than be burdened with eye glasses or contact lenses. I entered the laser eye surgery and lens replacement surgery business in 2002 and we have been the European market leader since In the UK we have over 60% market share. I started my property investment, development and construction business in We own and lease out a mixture of retail, office, leisure and industrial property. We have experience in property development and construction projects, past, present and future, in residential, commercial and leisure. In 2012 we opened our first Corporate Events business at 200 St Vincent Street in Glasgow. We opened our second events venue at The Shore Loch Lomond in June 2018 and our third events venue will open in Bearsden in the North Church at Bearsden Cross, late in 2019 or early Over the last 6 years, 200 SVS has established itself as the Premier venue in Glasgow to hold a conference or celebratory event. We have thousands of corporte clients, many of whom use the events space on a regular basis. We believe we can tap into this database to promote corporate karting if the track is promoted properly and has the right equipment, facilities and is part of our Group. Despite the challenges of the economic downturn, significant devaluation of the GBP, increasing personal taxation in Scotland, the demise of the high street and the uncertainty of Brexit, we are confident of achieving another year of sales and profitability growth across each division of our Group in 2019.

4 Motorsport & Other Sponsorships I have been involved in Motorsport since the early 1990s when we commenced our long-term sponsorship of Barry Horne. Barry started in karts at Larkhall and then raced in Formula Ford Scottish and British Championships. Barry then moved onto Caterham and Caterham Super Lights, where he won both the British and European Championships. One of the main highlights of Barry s career was winning the inaugural Porsche GT3 Carrera Cup British Championship in My digital marketing team have produced websites for Dean McDonald, British Champion and Dexter Patterson, British and World Champion, to help promote their careers for several years. In addition to sponsorship of racing drivers, Optical Express have also been a sponsor of the LGM Championship for the last 4 years and we are committed to sponsoring this Championship again in 2019 and I also have a passion for golf, even though I have no time to play whilst supporting Angus in his racing. In the second half of 2018 we signed a 3 year sponsorship deal with the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) to become their official Eyecare partner. Our intention is to raise awareness about the importance of eye health and how quality of vision impacts performance. In the early 2000s we sponsored a young Professional golfer, Alan Tait, during his first two years after he qualified to play on the full European Tour. We have sponsored other young golfers at the early stage of their career including a local boy from Milton of Campsie, Jamie Savage for 2 years. In addition, we have sponsored players at the pinnacle of the sport, Retief Goosen US PGA Champion and Padraig Harrington, multiple major winner and just announced to be 2020 Ryder Cup Captain for the European team. We also recently had a two year sponsorship deal with Simon Dyson. In our eye surgery business we have sponsored many scientific research studies, including funding one of our optometrists, Cameron Hudson, and a support team, to hike to the South Pole to measure the effect of Ultraviolet Light on the eye and the psychological impact on the brain. We have donated millions of pounds to hundreds of different charities over the years. In 2018, as part of our Thanks A Million campaign, we donated 1m worth of laser eye surgery to NHS and Emergency Services workers. The majority of patients in this effort have already received free treatment and the remainder will be treated by the end of Q The Optical Express Group has been recognised for many awards over the last 30 years and I am very fortunate to have hundreds of employees who have been with me for over 10 years and dozens who have been with me for over 20 years. Without their commitment and loyalty, business and life would be very different. I believe that my team and I have the relevant experience to transform Larkhall race track through the extension and improvement of the facilities whilst placing a significant emphasis on customer service and experience. I sincerely hope that I can gain the support of the members of WSKC to allow me to make this happen. I genuinely believe this is what is required for the long term success and future of both WSKC and Scotland s best kart track.

5 BACKGROUND From David Mousdale Over the last 10 years the number of members and visitors attending practice days and entering club races or various other National Championship races has been in decline. WSKC is currently losing money and within a short time frame will cease to exist, if nothing changes. In my view, the Club has now reached a tipping point and someone as an individual, with the appropriate financial resources, commercial acumen, digital marketing understanding and IT systems knowledge, has to invest a significant amount of time, effort and money to save Larkhall track and WSKC from extinction. I know of at least one previous attempt where an individual was willing to do this, but the then committee frustrated his efforts and he decided to walk away. If he had been embraced and allowed to get on with it, I do not believe the club would be in this life threatening position. I sincerely hope that the committee and the membership will see my proposal for what it is and unanimously embrace it. I am open to discussion in respect of some of the points of detail, but I am rigid in respect of certain other points. If we can t reach agreement on these critical points, the deal with me will not go ahead. As I have stated in several of my communications to the Chairman and copied various other members of the club. I will stand aside and support anyone else who has the financial resources, commercial experience and similar intentions for WSKC to continue as a club for its members and visitors. That said, having given this a lot of thought and consideration, I am willing to take on the financial risk and make the investment in the Larkhall Circuit. I believe we can make Larkhall a great place to race again. I also believe there is only benefit to the members, with no downside. The track will be significantly better and the facilities dramatically improved. We are all aware that the track is highly likely to come under a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) at sometime within the next 10 years due to the local housing expansion Master Plan. If this was to happen now, from my personal experience and due to the financial performance of the club, I believe the club would receive next to nothing in compensation, as it is losing money and currently has little value. However, if we have a financially viable business on the corporate karting side and WSKC is thriving again, we have a far stronger bargaining position to demand substantial compensation and most likely enough to build a new even better track complex at a suitable alternative location. I am grateful to the various individuals on the 2018 and new 2019 Committees and the Chairman Michael Smith for their cooperation. Their advice and direction has helped me understand more of the concerns and points that are critically important to the members. I am also grateful for the substantial amount of work that Advanced Construction have put in to help the club and its members reach a point where they have a clear decision to make about the track extension and the future direction of WSKC. I sincerely hope that you as the members support my proposal and if you do, I will deliver you a vastly improved facility for you and your family to enjoy.

6 TRACK OPTIONS Option 1

7 Option 2