THE ROLE OF LONDON CORINTHIAN TRUST

Also see the London Corinthian Trust website: www.Linden-House.org.

Most of you who are reading this are members of the London Corinthian Sailing Club. All such members are eligible to be members of London Corinthian Trust; most but not all are but do you understand what the Trust is and what it is for? If not, the diagram and a little history may help.

LONDON CORINTHIAN TRUST

A company limited by guarantee
Trustees (aka Directors) elected annually at the Company's AGM.
Registered as charity and for VAT.

LONDON CORINTHIAN SERVICES Ltd.

Wholly owned subsidiary of the Trust.
Not registered charity, but is for VAT.

TRUST MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Members are appointed by the Clubs.
Delegated authority from the Trust.
Advises the Trust.

LONDON CORINTHIAN SAILING CLUB

Licence from the Trust.
Appoints members to the Trust Management Committee.
Handles own finances, but pays Capitation Fees to the Trust.
Not registered as charity or for VAT.

SONS OF THE THAMES ROWING CLUB

Licence from the Trust.
Appoints members to the Trust Management Committee.
Handles own finances, but pays Capitation Fees to the Trust.
Not registered as charity or for VAT.

Up to a few years ago, all was, on the surface, simple. There was only LCSC and we rented Linden House from the local council on a long non-repairing lease last renegotiated (after recourse to the Court) in the early 1980s and due to expire in 2001. The possibility of change first appeared in the summer of 1993 when the council offered to sell the freehold of Linden House for, I think, about Ł300,000 provided completion occurred before the end of the year. This was before the days of the Lottery and although an appeal to members was launched we could not approach the asking price. When the Lottery was instituted, the possibility of purchase seemed more realistic. For the next few years, negotiations with the council waxed and waned. However, with the help of the Lottery and the generous response of members to an Appeal for matching funds; with the agreement of Sons of the Thames to give up their building (also on Upper Mall and owned by the council), and with a vast amount of work by many members, agreement was finally reached to buy the freehold and refurbish the building.

It was realised that the potential liability of owning and operating such a valuable building was more than could be expected of Trustees without limitation to their liability and a Company Limited by Guarantee was set up to own the building. This company is London Corinthian Trust (we have a special exemption from use of the Limited in our title) which is governed by Company Law and has to submit reports and accounts to Companies House. Subsequently, this company obtained registration as a charity and became governed also by Charity Law and has to submit to the Charity Commissioners reports and accounts, which are very similar to those required by Companies House. You may now understand why the Trustees are also known as Directors.

Because a charity can only engage in a minimum of trading, it was necessary to set up a subsidiary to run the trading activities of the Trust, particularly the bar and room letting. It is not widely known that most charity shops are run by a trading subsidiary. This company, which is called London Corinthian Services Limited, pays to the Trust fees in return for a licence to use the building and operate the Trust's trading activities; any surplus at the end of the year will be gifted to the Trust.

The Trust, which owns the building and other facilities, has licensed the two sports clubs to use them and in return the clubs pay the Trust a capitation fee for each member to cover the cost of running and maintaining the building.

It will be seen that ultimate control is now in the hands of the Trustees; they delegate some of their responsibilities to the Trust Management Committee, which consists of people appointed by the clubs. The clubs are solely responsible for the day to day running of their sporting activities, which take place within the facilities provided by the Trust. Similarly, the clubs are responsible for raising and spending their own funds, subject to payment to the Trust of the capitation fees.

Over the last couple of years, the separation of responsibilities and finance has required much effort and head-scratching but the transition should shortly be complete. Then for most people, as it is for many now, their contacts will be almost solely with one or other or both of the clubs, and the Trust will hopefully be largely invisible. Tony Robinson Trustee and Company Secretary
Tony Robinson Trustee and Company Secretary

See www.Linden-House.org - the London Corinthian Trust website.
See who's who for current members of the various comittees.