Contents
Summary 3
Executive Summary 3
Club Governance 3
Management Committee 3
Executive Committee 3
General Committee 3
Club Size 3
Senior Membership 3
Mini and Youth Membership 3
Associate Membership 3
Key Success Factors 3
Overview and Analysis 5
Vision 5
Facilities 5
Club History 5
Eton Manor Now 6
Overview 6
Club Governance 6
Senior Rugby 6
Mini and Youth Rugby 7
Rugby Coaches 7
Referees 7
Community Links 7
SWOT Analysis 8
Strengths 8
Weaknesses 8
Opportunities 9
Threats 9
Strategic Action Plan 11
Overview 11
Short Term Objectives 11
Consolidation and Re-organisation 11
Identify Revenue Streams 11
Medium Term Objectives 12
Improve playing surfaces 12
Clubhouse Improvements 12
Long Term Objectives 12
Develop an upstairs bar 12
Market Analysis 13
Target Customers 13
Membership 13
External Customers 13
Competitors 13
The Future 13
Financial Plan 14
Overview 14
Management Accounts 14
Forecast and Budget 16
Cash Flow 18
Summary
Executive Summary
NOTE To be completed following agreement of the document
Club Governance
The rugby club is operated as an unincorporated association which pays rent to its patron, Eton Manor Rugby Football Club Limited (by guarantee and not having a share capital)
Management Committee
Executive Committee
Chairman – Mr Paul Saunders
Hon. Secretary – Mr Matt Evans
Hon. Treasurer – Mr Ian Lovett
Club Captain – Mr Ian Edwards
Youth Chairman – Mr Terry Burton
General Committee
Mr J. Makowski , Mr J. Ayling, Mr G. Davies, Mr S. Thompson, Mr H. Luong, Mr P. Thomas, Mr B. McKie, Mr D. Edwards, Mr J. Bradley, Mr F. Spencer, Mr S. Bottomley
Club Size
Senior Membership
· 75 Playing
· 40 Non-playing
Mini and Youth Membership
· 300 Playing
· 500+ Parents
Associate Membership
· 22
Key Success Factors
· Modern clubhouse
· Freehold to the property at Nutter Lane
· Long established reputation
• Successful senior playing section
• Clubmark, Gold Seal of Approval Club for youth and mini
• High levels of community engagement and strong local brand
Overview and Analysis
Vision
The vision of Eton Manor Rugby Football Club is to provide competitive and structured rugby union for the local community in a safe and friendly environment. We also believe that future development is intrinsically linked to increasing the involvement of the community in participating in sport and educational projects by increasing the use of the Club’s existing and future facilities.
Facilities
The Club has the following facilities on site which is owned freehold:
-First team pitch with floodlights, dugouts and spectator areas commensurate with the standard of rugby we currently play.
-2 further full size pitches
-1 grass training pitch with training lights
-4 players changing rooms, 2 officials changing rooms
-A Clubhouse with two bar areas and kitchen which can service up to 100 covers.
-Large BBQ and hardstanding area suitable for marquees.
-Large, recently refurbished car park.
Club History
Eton Manor RFC was formed in 1923, a section within the Eton Manor clubs, Hackney Wick, east London. We became an independent club in 1970 and have a very proud and illustrious history. The Club has produced a number of international players that have represented their various countries and several English internationals at schools and youth levels. In addition the Club supports County rugby with its youth and senior players regularly represent the County at various levels. Traditionally the Club has enjoyed a high profile in local rugby circles. In administration the Club has in the past provided various county committee members and President.
In 1998 the club moved to new facilities in Wanstead, London, and with the help of lottery funding a new clubhouse was built. The process of rebuilding the club was further enhanced when in 2001 the club secured the freehold of the land, thus securing the future of the club at their current home.
When the Club moved to their current ground, it was decided that a mini section should be reformed to encourage the playing of rugby by boys and girls from an early age. The mini and youth section has grown into a well-established and successful part of the club, attracting in excess of 300 playing members. The section also runs one of the largest annual youth festivals in the county, with in excess of 800 boys and girls attending.
Eton Manor Now
Overview
The club a busy place which provides serves rugby to both our Senior and Junior section. However, in order to sustain the services which we provide to our members we also hire out our facilities to the local community and various businesses.
Typically these events include wedding receptions, birthday parties, funerals and other bespoke celebrations. In addition we hire out the facilities to be used for meetings e.g. a local bikers group, a crèche and Pilates class; as well as corporate training events for local and national companies, e.g. Skanska and Kierbeck Steel. We also hire the grounds for representative rugby matches, school sports days and local charity events.
Club Governance
In the period between 2006 to 2009 our business plan identified various projects that were undertaken to improve the facilities on offer to our members and customers. These included the development of the car parking facilities; installation of new flood-lights, dug outs (team huts at pitchside) and crowd barriers to the first team pitch; we also formed a patio area with BBQ to the side of the club which serves as a beer garden area or hardstanding for a marquee.
However, since 2009, the club has failed to attract a main sponsor which has meant that we are increasingly having to rely on proceeds from the bar and membership to generate revenue.
At the beginning of 2011 a new committee was elected to the club including the three key positions of Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary. In addition to this the general committee was extended incorporating more volunteers. This approach has already seen results by increasing the level of membership and revenues, re-negotiating our brewery supplier and putting steps in place to better control our costs and measure our expenditures.
Senior Rugby
The Club runs 3 senior XV’s on a regular basis throughout the season. Since the 2009/10 season the 1st XV have played in London 1 North. The 2nd XV play in BL Merit league 2 and the 3rd XV play in the BL League 3.
Mini and Youth Rugby
The Club has made considerable progress in expanding mini & youth rugby. In 2009 we achieved the Clubmark Gold Seal of Approval, a nationally recognised award. It is also run within the guidelines set out by the RFU in their continuum including a dedicated child protection officer. Since 1998 the number of mini & youth teams has increased from 4 to 12 with further expansion planned. The Club has developed excellent links with the neighbouring schools and local educational authority with the clubs qualified coaches often assisting in local government run sports schemes and after school rugby clubs.
Rugby Coaches
The Club has a designated full time coaching co-ordinator and we run a coaching development programme. There are a total of 22 qualified coaches of varying coaching levels.
Referees
The Club is an active supporter of the London Society of Referees Society and currently have two referees who are members of the Society. In addition there are a number of qualified referees both at junior and senior levels associated with the club.
Community Links
The Club has formed a very strong link with the local educational authority as well as the parents and family of the youth section.
SWOT Analysis
Strength / WeaknessEton Manor Brand
Rugby
Excellent Facilities
Thriving Mini and Youth Section / Funding
Lack of Volunteers
Name has no geographical association with the area
Under utilisation
Opportunities / Threats
Grants/Sponsorship
Increase Membership
Increased Utilisation of Current Facilities
Olympics / Increased Costs
Loss of and Transient Playing Staff
Loosing Youth to university at Colt Level
Strengths
Eton Manor Brand
The Eton Manor brand has a long history associated with the east London area, particularly at the Olympic site whose footprint extends over the original home ground (The Wilderness). The club is a prominent member of the Essex Rugby Union.
Rugby
Our members comprise a busy senior section which runs 3 teams catering for all abilities. Our first team competes in London Division 1 North, a “semi-professional” standard of rugby. As a benefit aspiring players want to be associated with the club.
Excellent Facilities
In addition to our modern clubhouse we have improved the facilities since 2006 by improving the existing car park, floodlights to the first team pitch, professional dugouts and a hardstanding BBQ area to the side. These facilities are commensurate with our playing status and also enable us to be attractive to external clients.
Thriving Youth and Mini Section
Our youth sections are our biggest strength attracting in excess of 350 players along with their families who also use the facilities. The youth players attend the local state and private schools of Wanstead, Woodford, Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
Weaknesses
Funding
We currently have no major club sponsor
Lack of Volunteers
Whilst the situation is improving with respect to the governance of the club, still too few people fulfil too many roles, especially amongst the senior teams. We must improve the structure of the club in line with RFU best practice and a volunteer co-ordinator has been appointed to drive this through the club.
Name has no geographical association with the area
The name of the club does not associate itself with the surrounding area and we feel that this is a negative when attracting new members as they can’t link the name to the place. There are no plans to change our name however.
Under utilisation
We feel there is scope for our facilities to be utilised further. Our external clients are mainly through word of mouth. Some reasons for this are, we do not actively market the venue plus, during the season, the clubhouse is used to service its members into the evenings on match days. Unlocking increased utilisation would increase revenue.
Opportunities
Grants/Sponsorship
We believe that a major club sponsor will provide needed cash for the club. We intend to pursue grant opportunities.
Increase Membership
Whilst we have increased the membership fees at the start of the current season, we believe there is still scope to increase membership numbers by working harder to capture existing club users and publicise the playing facility.
Increased Utilisation of Current Facilities
Our target market for the utilisation of our facility will typically hire the venue for social or corporate events.
Olympics
We have identified an opportunity to use the grounds for camping activities around the 2012 Olympic Games. We have a sub-committee actively working on this and hope to realise a profit of about £20k at this time. For details see the budget for 2012/13. Other opportunities are also being pursued should they prove to be more profitable. These include hiring out the venue in its entirety as we have had some interest from the Metropolitan Police and private companies or hiring the car park during the games.
Threats
Increased Costs
Risings costs are an ever present risk, however, recently we have re-negotiated our beer and spirit supplier, finding savings of 5% and tied in our energy supplier for 2 years.
Loss of and Transient Playing Staff
Given the status of the first team within the structured league system and the professional nature of the modern game, the risk of losing playing staff is ever present. Whilst it is difficult to value the impact in terms of money, relegation could make us less attractive to future membership.
Loosing Youth at Colt Level
Colt level rugby is the age group which links youth and senior rugby. We are losing too many players at this stage due to University, work and other factors.
Strategic Action Plan
Overview
As part of the overall development of the Club the aim of this Plan is to help focus and guide the Club’s activities thus providing a documented and measurable structure for development. It will help the Club to clarify its objectives, resources, priorities and timescales for its future development. The production and implementation of the Plan is designed to encourage ownership of the recommendations and action plans by our members, partners and all stakeholders.
Short Term Objectives
Consolidation and Re-organisation
The club is in a period of consolidation financially after a period of spending which saw the improvement of the current facilities in works to the carpark, floodlights, dug-outs and hardstanding areas around the club. We are actively challenging our costs and improving the control of finances. Example’s of this are the new tills which have been purchased and will help us control stock, analyse waste and target sales etc. A vital part of this is to restructure the clubs debt which will in itself realise economies and will enable stable financial planning during the year utilising working capital.
Re-organisation of the club structure began in early 2011, however there is still more work to be done to recruit and manage volunteers in all areas of the Club and particularly management, marketing and coaching. This will enable us to be a more effective organisation and develop the areas which we see are key in unlocking potential revenue i.e., utilisation of the clubhouse through increased events, improvements to the catering facilities and member services.
Identify Revenue Streams
New membership fees
The new management committee increased the costs of membership packages throughout the club for the 2011/12, increasing revenue from this income stream by 400%. In addition we have introduced monthly direct debits further guaranteeing a steady income throughout the year.
Sponsorship
A strategy is needed to attract a new club main sponsor.
Facility Hire
Utilisation of the facilities must be increased, especially during summer months in between the playing season. Volunteers are required to co-ordinate advertising and social activities. One step which was taken this year was to introduce a two level pricing system for alcohol to maximise revenue on external sales.