AGM report, Living Wage, Rory Bremner, show us the deeds

Celtic’s Annual General Meeting, held at Celtic Park today, was a livelier event than usual.  The board received a hostile response to their refusal to back a resolution to provide all staff with at least the Living Wage.  Several impassioned points were made from the floor, which convinced chairman, Ian Bankier, to dispense with his prepared response and provide answers to specific questions.

The vote went against the resolution based on the proxy votes cast by the chairman but the board have never lost the floor so convincingly on any prior issue.

Resolution 12, encouraging the club to purse the game’s authorities on matters relating to the governance of liquidated Rangers was adjourned indefinitely by the requisitioners.  On proposing the adjournment, a spokesman for the requisitioners (our own Morrissey23) explained that they had met the club and received information not previously known, and that further meetings were planned.

Fergus McCann made an unexpected contribution to the AGM by email through the chairman, extoling the virtues of financial director, Eric Riley, who he commended for 19 years’ service in pursuing Celtic’s interests.  Fergus asked for, and got, an applause for Eric Riley, which resulted in the first unanimous show of hands to re-elect a director I have seen at a Celtic AGM.

AGM questions can be a tortuous affair but they were on the money this year.  We had poetry, questions about financial governance including a question as to whether the club owns all of it’s perceived property assets.  Ian Bankier confirmed it did, before planting his tongue in his cheek to insist “I’m not going to show you the deeds”.

When one shareholder expressed frustration that a new Scottish club is pretending to be a now liquidated club, chief executive, Peter Lawwell, retorted, “Rory Bremner can pretend to be Tony Blair”.

Many thanks for the many CQN Annual orders, which are now shipping. You can order here: