The question of Trusteeship is being discussed in many of our affiliated unincorporated Clubs. I can confirm that ACC Trusteeship is a service which Clubs are increasingly taking advantage of and we now act on behalf of approximately 200 of our 400 unincorporated member Clubs. The remaining ACC Clubs are mainly registered Industrial and Provident Societies.
A brief description of our Trusteeship service can be found in the following extract from my Club Law and Management book Q&A section which I think covers the fundamental points.
Q. Our club is unincorporated and the committee wish to propose the possibility of transferring the Trustee responsibilities to the ACC as we are finding it increasingly difficult to find members who are willing to take on this important role. Could you please confirm how such a change would work in practice and why it would be beneficial to the club?
This transfer of Trusteeship has increasingly become popular amongst unincorporated clubs such as yours as there are two main benefits for the club. The first is that the ACC will pay for all legal expenses involved with the transfer of Trusteeship and once elected will act as the club’s Trustees on a permanent continuous basis, thereby also saving the club future legal costs since Trustees will not be changed by re-election as they are now. The second is that the Association’s financial and legal resources are such that the club’s position will be greatly strengthened when negotiating loans or defending itself against legal action taken by a third party. This Association will not be involved in the day-to-day business of the club and will be subject to the lawful instructions of the committee in respect of its role as the club’s Trustee in exactly the same way as the existing Trustees.
I confirm that as Trustees are currently elected by Members, it would be the Members who will need to approve our appointment. Our Solicitors will deal with all the necessary legal work and there will be no charge to the Club. Importantly, we act as Trustees in accordance with your Club’s Trust Deed and your Club’s Rules. If on any future occasion the Members wish to revert the Trusteeship back to within the membership of the Club then they may do in accordance to the procedure set out in your Club Rules. I do not however, know of any occasion when this has happened. The ACC Trusteeship service is only applicable when we take over sole Trusteeship of a Club since I am unable to use our trust funds if Club Members remain as Trustees. Therefore, if the Members agree to elect the ACC as Trustees, any current Trustee would need to resign their office.
I confirm that the ACC do not become involved with the day to day business of any Club for which we act as Trustee. We do not attend any Committee meetings unless specifically invited to do so (and such occasions would be very rare indeed) and we do not exercise any vote. The Club will continue to be able to call upon the ACC for advice on any matter without needing to make reference to our Trusteeship. In short, we keep the two responsibilities entirely separate. We will only act on behalf of the Club in accordance with the lawful instructions of the Committee and Members. The Club Committee will therefore continue to run the Club’s affairs and will only refer matters to the ACC as and when they consider it appropriate to do so.
There are, I think, three important points to make at a Meeting in respect of ACC Trusteeship and these are the only points on which the Members really require confirmation.
1.) Is it a takeover? No, we hold the Trusteeship on behalf of the Club in accordance with the Club’s rules, and the Club’s Trust Deed. The Committee continue to manage the Club’s day to day affairs without any outside influence.
2.) Are there any costs? No, we have a special fund which pays for this type of transfer and there are no ongoing costs to the Club.
3.) Can we ever elect Club Trustees again? Yes, if at some future time the Members, for whatever reason, decide to elect Trustees from within the Club then they can. To my knowledge, however, this has never been requested.
Please note, when Members elect the ACC to act as Trustees, this is never a reflection on the ability to of the existing Trustees to fulfil their duties and legal obligations. I trust this information is of assistance.
Philip Smith