Trust In Luton
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Luton Town Supporters' Trust is a registered
industrial and provident society An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules. The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...
which acts as the
supporters' trust In British sports, a supporters' trust is a formal, democratic and not-for-profit organisation of Fan (person), fans who attempt to strengthen the influence of supporters over the running of the club they support. There are over 140 supporters' tru ...
, a democratic
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
, for fans of the English
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
. Trust in Luton was established in June 2003 by a group of supporters following the highly controversial takeover of Luton Town by John Gurney. Luton's current Managing Director, Gary Sweet, was a founding member and former director of the Trust, and was part of the movement that successfully forced Gurney out by deliberately placing the club into
administrative receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especiall ...
. The Trust owns 50,000 shares in the club's holding company, Luton Town Football Club 2020 Limited, and currently holds the right of veto over any changes to the club's identity – the only such organisation that has this right in English professional football. The Trust is also a member of
Supporters Direct Supporters Direct was an umbrella organisation set up originally by the British government (with cross-party support) to provide support and assistance for its member trusts to secure a greater level of accountability and deliver democratic rep ...
, a government-led trust initiative.


History

In May 2003, businessman John Gurney and his consortium bought
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
for just £4 from owner Mike Watson-Challis. One of Gurney's first acts was to sack Luton manager
Joe Kinnear Joseph Patrick Kinnear (27 December 1946 – 7 April 2024) was an Irish professional football manager and player. As a defender, Kinnear spent the majority of his career spanning ten seasons with Tottenham Hotspur and one with Brighton & H ...
and his assistant,
Mick Harford Michael Gordon Harford (born 12 February 1959) is an English football manager and former professional player. He is the chief recruitment officer at Luton Town, a club where he has spent a large portion of both his playing and non-playing career ...
– both popular figures with Luton's supporters. Gurney outlined his vision to, among other things, build a
Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
track around a 70,000-capacity stadium, share the ground with
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
and
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
franchises, and to change the club's name to ''London-Luton Football Club'' to tie in with the local airport and make it more accessible to "customers" living outside of Luton. Gurney also raised the possibility of Luton merging with
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
, a club located over 40 miles away, in order to secure a position in the league above. This proposed destruction of the club's history and culture led to a group of supporters establishing Trust in Luton to protect the future of Luton Town and provide a unified voice to protest against Gurney's involvement. The Trust successfully convinced many supporters and local sponsors to vote with their feet and refuse to buy season tickets or invest in the club for the 2003–04 campaign, with the money (totalling almost £300,000) instead pledged towards the Trust. The club was later revealed to be losing £500,000 a month and, by July 2003, the players and staff had not been paid for two months. Combined with
The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
withholding television and league sponsorship money due to the ongoing uncertainty, there was a very real threat that the club would be declared bankrupt within a matter of weeks. The Trust devised a strategy and began to acquire shares in the club's major creditor, ''Hatters Holdings'', an
offshore company The term "offshore company" or "offshore corporation" is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business proce ...
that was owed several million pounds by the club. ''Hatters Holdings'', now majority-owned by a combination of Trust in Luton and prominent supporter spokesman Gary Sweet, deliberately placed the club into
administrative receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especiall ...
on 14 July 2003 to successfully force out John Gurney after a turbulent 55 days in charge. As a shareholder in the club's major creditor, the Trust was part of the group of creditors who agreed to sell the club to a consortium headed by
Bill Tomlins Bill Tomlins was a British businessman who, along with a consortium, brought Luton Town FC out of administrative receivership in May 2004. The Hatters completed his full season in charge in May 2005, achieving the championship in the Coca-Cola Le ...
in December 2003, with the sale completed in May 2004. The Trust was provided with a place on Luton's board and initial success followed, as the club won promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
under the new owners during the 2004–05 season. In June 2005, the Trust led calls for the cancellation of a planned friendly match between Luton and
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...
. The match was called off, with the "franchise" nature of MK Dons, which went against much of what the Trust stands for, cited as the primary reason for supporter disaffection. In April 2007, Tomlins resigned his position as chairman following an investigation by
the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
into irregular payments made by the club's parent company, Jayten Stadium Limited, and confirmed that illegal payments had been made to incoming players' agents. The Trust's board representative remained unaware of any illegal payments, leading to other board members at the club to apologise to Trust in Luton, stating that they had misled them as to the serious nature of the investigation and the club's financial situation. The Trust, having since sold its share in ''Hatters Holdings'', was powerless to act as
David Pinkney David Lee Pinkney is a British businessman and auto racing driver. He competed in the British Touring Car Championship on and off between 1989 and 2011. Racing career James Weaver talked David into racing and he started out in the Uniroyal Sa ...
was confirmed as new chairman two days after Tomlins' resignation. Relegation to
League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...
followed a week later. In October 2007, the Trust had its seat on the board withdrawn and, a few weeks later, the club was docked ten points after entering administration. The administrators ultimately sold the club in February 2008 to the fan-backed Luton Town Football Club 2020 consortium – headed up by former Trust in Luton director Gary Sweet. The consortium had agreed a deal with the Trust for them to buy, when in a position to, 50,000 shares to ensure the club would have a greater level of fan ownership and involvement. Luton were relegated to League Two at the end of the season and then, following a 30-point deduction for financial irregularities, to the
Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...
during the 2008–09 season. Trust in Luton formalised the ownership of its 50,000 shares in October 2012 during a meeting with the club's officials. The same meeting led the Trust to begin stepping up its involvement with the club, including an agreement to hold quarterly meetings with Luton directors and for the establishment of a scheme where shares could be sold to fans via the Trust. This also saw Trust in Luton start campaigning for answers from the footballing authorities for why other clubs, such as
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
,
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
and
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, had received lighter punishments than Luton (who had been docked 40 points in two seasons and had large fines imposed) for comparative financial misdemeanours. In March 2014, it was confirmed that Trust in Luton had been given the legal right to veto any future changes to Luton's identity, no matter who owns the club, including its name, nickname, colours, club crest and mascot. This step to empower Luton fans led to the Trust's membership tripling in one day. In November 2014, Trust in Luton merged with the long-established Luton Town Supporters' Club.


Current board

:''As of 14 May 2015.'' * Chairman: Tony Murray * Secretary: Steve Townsend * Treasurer: Les Miller * Membership Secretary: Allan Kirk * Board Members: Chris Lavey, Terry Hopper, Alisdair MacLean * Luton Town Supporters Liaison Officer: John Miller


President and patrons

:''As of 14 May 2015.'' Like similar societies and organisations, Trust in Luton have a president and patrons: President * John Moore (former Luton manager who led the club to their highest-ever league finish, and later became the club's youth coach) Patron * Joan Bartholomew (widow of comedian
Eric Morecambe John Eric Bartholomew (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's de ...
, a prominent supporter of Luton Town and former president of the club)


References


External links


Official website
{{Luton Town F.C. Luton Town F.C. Supporters' trusts