Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about Trust Everton.
Q. What is objective of Trust Everton?
A: To help safeguard the future of Everton FC by mobilising supporters.
Q. When will Trust Everton become fully operational?
A. To a degree this will be dictated by levels of initial interest, which will help shape if and when we have managed to develop a financial model and any associated legal structure(s) that are required to support it.
Q. Does Trust Everton want to own the club one day?
A: No. The primary purpose of Trust Everton is to work with the club management and owners (whoever they happen to be at the time) to have a stable financial base for the club by securing the long-term financing of some of its key fixed assets.
Q. I don’t like the idea that Trust Everton money will be used by the club in a way I do not agree with.
A. Initially, the focus will be on developing an interest in ideas which can help the club; but if and when the time comes for it to accept subscriptions and other funds Trust Everton will be in control of how any money that it raises will be used. This will only be for the purpose of financing fixed assets used by the club and related expenses. In particular, funds provided by Trust Everton will only be used for specific purposes designated and not at the general disposal of the club.
Q. Do I have to be a shareholder to get involved?
A: No.
Q. Will the current shareholders and Shareholders Association be by-passed by Trust Everton?
A: No. We believe that the Shareholders Association and Trust Everton can exist side by side.
Q. Is Trust Everton trying to make a profit for its shareholders, and if not, why has it been set up as a private limited company?
A. Trust Everton will be run as a “not-for-private-profit” social enterprise from the outset and its published accounts will be transparent. It is more usual to see such entities incorporated as one of a Community Interest Company (CIC), Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG), or an Industrial and Provident Society (IPS). However, each of these legal forms has specific governing legislation and in particular restrictions on how it can raise funds. Until a new financing model has been developed it will not be clear which of the available legal structures (or combinations thereof) will support that model. Converting or transferring the assets of a private limited company to another legal form is much more straightforward than converting a CIC, CLG or IPS. Finally, given the scale of the funding that will be required Trust Everton will not begin to accept members' or other funds until an appropriate and secure infrastructure is in place.