MINUTES OF THE SEVENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

OF THURNHAM HALL OWNERS

HELD ON SUNDAY 1 DECEMBER 2002 AT 10:30AM

AT THE CARLETON, MORECAMBE

 

In attendance were:- Paula Beatson Finance Director

Mr Kevin Haygarth Resort Manager

Mr Philip Broomhead FNTC

Mr John Hughes Needham & James Solicitors

Mr John Jackson Mgt Committee Representative

Pamela Francis Mgt Committee Representative

Mr Kevan Dean Mgt Committee Representative

Mr Jackson opened the meeting; welcomed everyone who was in attendance and introduced the above people seated at the top table.

•  Election of Chairman
Mr Jackson requested nominations from the floor for a Chairperson; no one was forthcoming so he nominated Mr Broomhead. This was seconded by Mr Summer.

Philip Broomhead introduced himself as the Head of Legal Services for the First National Trustee Company, and a Trustee at Thurnham Hall since it's conception.

•  Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from the following members:-

Mr & Mrs J Aveyard, Bingley
Mr A J & Mrs N P Evans, The Wirral
Mr R W & Mrs M A Waller, Preston
Dr M & Mrs E Zonca, Cheadle
Mrs Averil E Hodgson, Wigton
Mr J Fowler & Miss J Topham
Mr Brian Watson

•  Correspondence

There was no correspondence to be dealt with at this point.

 

•  Matters arising from the Minutes of the last AGM
Mr Broomhead asked for acceptance, or if there were any questions relating to the Minutes of the last AGM:

Mr Mike Morris said he had raised it last year, and it was minuted that Interval International did not categorise Thurnham Hall as a 5* resort. Mr Fogg had replied that he was under the impression that it was and he would clarify it. Mr Morris wanted to point out that 12 months later II still do not recognise Thurnham Hall as a 5* Resort.

Paula and Philip Broomhead responded that they were sure Interval had Thurnham Hall listed as 5*, and Paula said she would discuss this with Mr Morris after the meeting.

Mr Kinraid said that last year's minutes stated that John Jackson said there had been numerous complaints about RCI and that was the reason for switching to II. He said he had all the copies of the previous Minutes and could find no reference to these complaints, he asked Mr Jackson to elaborate.

Mr Jackson said that although he didn't have the benefit of having all the paperwork in front of him he could recall that the majority of complaints investigated by the Management Committee were to do with RCI. Two years ago Colette Morris, who at that time worked for RCI, agreed to attend the AGM in an effort to settle customer's complaints and was mobbed by people waiting to see her.

Mr Charlie Dickinson pointed out that at last year's AGM Mr Fogg had promised that a window would be available for Members to retain their RCI status, but that this information had not been included in the minutes.

Paula and Philip confirmed that the arrangement was in place.

Mr Dickinson wanted a statement on the bottom of page 8 corrected. It states that Mr Fogg, after being asked how many half members there were, had replied circa 500 but there are actually 463 odd and 460 even, so his 500 should have been referenced to unit weeks and not actual members. Mr Dickinson also pointed out that there is no reference to alternate year members in the Constitution.

The Chairman agreed and said that this was the purpose of the resolutions to be voted on later in the meeting which would address that problem.

Mr David Jewel asked why Vacation Club Members were not allowed to attend the AGM

The Chairman replied that this is the Annual General Meeting of the fixed week and biennial Members of Thurnham Hall. TVC is a separate club with separate rights and obligations. However, some fixed week owners have also taken up membership of TVC and are still entitled to attend due to their fixed week ownership status.

•  Approval of the Minutes
Mr Dickinson then proposed acceptance of the Minutes and Mr Blakeway seconded this.

•  Presentation of Accounts & Financial Report incorporating the Report from the Development Company
Paula explained that she was incorporating Mr Fogg's Developer's Report into hers because development at the resort was now coming to it's natural close. The planning permission for the last block of 10 units has been deliberately delayed because it is felt the current infrastructure is inadequate to cope. Work will probably commence sometime in the next 18 months and as discussed last year, in order to cope with the increased numbers the final phase will need to be accompanied by a new reception block and extended restaurant facilities. Paula did announce that the Group had purchased a further 500 weeks of inventory, these being 250 weeks at Cromer and 250 weeks on the canal boats. She also reported that discussions were still on-going with two resorts in Scotland . The Directors had hoped that a firm announcement on one of these would have been possible in time for the AGM, but it will now need to be sometime early next year.

Moving on to the financial issues Paula said that there had been an increase in the bar and restaurant income by some 31%. This was accompanied by an increase in the profit margin from 45% to 53% which she felt was very encouraging. It showed they were moving positively towards achieving the 60% target.

Paula said that the leisure centre had seen a very healthy increase of 40% achieved through the very popular social membership for the leisure centre. However, the numbers were being very carefully monitored to ensure a fine balance was maintained between providing income for the resort and ensuring the owners enjoyment of these facilities was not affected.

Miscellaneous income, which will be dealt with in more detail by the Resort Manager, has also seen a very encouraging increase of 31%.

Motoring and travelling costs have increased due to the profit initiatives such as the Lakes trips etc. However this increased usage is then reflected in the increased sundry income.

Vehicle hire is the cost of the resort minibuses and the cars provided to the resort and assistant resort manager. Historically the development company has absorbed these costs, but they now need to be borne by the management company. Both cars are justified in order that 24hour cover and call out can be maintained.

There has been a significant increase in the television licence costs, this was due to the fact that for a long time we had unknowingly paid for our TV licences which we thought fell into a specific band. However, it transpires that we now need to pay for each individual set.

Equipment hire shows an increase of 25%. This is justifiable and due to two income generators, namely the new coffee machine and the hire of the marquee for New Year's Eve.

Whilst Sundry looks to have increased this year it is actually £3,000 of Health and Safety costs which were shown in Legal and Professional last year.


Resort Insurance has seen a rise of 8% this year, similar to the significant increases insurers have levied against your own home insurance.

Paula then moved on to discuss the Financial Forecasts pointing out that they are based on 60 units, and as we still only have 50 this obviously needs to be taken into account.

The Developer's contribution is still there and is the short fall between actual income and actual expenditure at the resort. This will diminish as the resort becomes self-funding which as she said last year should be by the end of 2004.

Kevin was given his budget in January of this year. Whilst the accounts cover the period to 30 June 2002 they in no way reflect the work that he has been doing in terms of ensuring all profit centres run as efficiently as possible. As previously mentioned significant savings on wages are not yet reflected, likewise the savings expected from the in-house laundry which have not materialised due to a delay in getting it up and running.

Paula then informed the meeting that as well as the Resort Manager, Kevin had taken on the new role of Group Development Manager, with a remit to look at total costs across the Group in order to achieve benefits from the economies of scale on such things like utilities, rates and telephones.

Paula said that she was working with Kevin very closely to ensure costs are kept as low as possible and revenues are maximised. She stands by the forecasts she made for 2003 because she knows the significant savings that are yet to be reflected in the actual accounts. From January 2003 Kevin will work closely with the Management Committee involving them more heavily in the financial workings.

Paula finished by saying she knew she had given the meeting a lot of information, but felt it was important that the Membership understood all the significant work and analysis going on in the background in order to reduce and monitor costs

Philip thanked Paula for her report and introduced Kevan Dean who was giving his first report on behalf of the Management Committee.

•  Report of the Management Committee
As the newest member of the Committee, Kevan felt it had been both an informative and testing year. He thanked his committee colleagues for enabling him to contribute; as he recognised he still had much to learn and understand about the role and functions of the Committee.

Kevan went on to talk about some of the improvements, funded by the Developer, which have been made at the Hall during 2002:-

The now operational on-site laundry.

The reclamation of the Library, a valuable quiet common area which was felt is a major asset to the Hall.

Redecoration of the lounge in The Thomas Grey Suite.

The Members' sinking fund had been used to carry out maintenance upgrading which included the Suffolk Suite and the Woodlands Apartments

Kevan thought it worth noting that there was now a small on-site maintenance team who carried out minor on-going maintenance like decorative touch-ups in between lets which obviously enhanced the appearance of the units.

Further improvements planned for 2003 include the renewal of the main staircase carpet and the refurbishment of the Crabtree Suite.

Kevan went on to discuss what the Committee found was a very important point, but one so often forgotten by the members themselves – Change of Address . Failing to inform Head Office of any change in details, but especially change of address, can cause major problems and ultimately to the confiscation of owners' weeks. Without this notification it can only be assumed that letters and invoices have been received.

 

Therefore, if you change your address please ensure you send a letter or e-mail to:
Deborah Rawlins

Customer Services

Thurnham Leisure Group

5 Aalborg Square

Thurnham Street

LANCASTER

LA1 1GG

customerservices@thurnhamleisure.com

 

but more importantly, please ensure you receive a letter of acknowledgement.

Kevan went on to talk about maintenance fees and again stressed how important it was to ensure that they were paid on time, the club relied on these fees to maintain the standard of the resort and it was vitally important that each and every member submitted their remittance promptly.

Unfortunately, Kevan had to inform the meeting about an incident of theft that had occurred during the summer, which had been recorded on CCTV camera. The offenders have been barred from using the facilities of the club for 12 months and have remitted the cost of the items removed. The Committee wanted to bring this to the attention of the floor in order that members could be reassured that security on the site is effective and secondly to stress that any offences would always be subjected to serious scrutiny and action would be taken. He asked for the support of the members whereby if they seen anything that gave them cause for concern to bring it to the immediate attention of the Resort Manager Kevin Haygarth.

Kevan also wanted to inform the members present that a long standing member of staff Julie Franks, had left the resort at the end of September in order to spend more time, especially evenings and week-ends, with her family. At her leaving dinner the Committee, on behalf of the Members, presented Julie with a commemorative gift, wished her all the very best for the future and thanked her for all her hard work, loyalty and commitment to the resort, but above all her very genuine friendship to the members.

Kevan finalised his report by saying that as the resort is now nearing completion, with the exception of the last 10 units, the Developer has requested that the Committee take on board the responsibility for the financial affairs of the Hall within the next two years. Maintenance Fees will be the only income by which the Hall is funded, and obviously receiving these fees on time will become even more crucial. Everyone has enjoyed the honeymoon period while the developer has remained on site, but this is now coming to an end. The Committee relish this exciting change and with the help of the Resort Manager and the Finance Director look forward to meeting the challenge.

Philip thanked Kevan for his report and requested Kevin Haygarth to detail his report as the Resort Manager.

•  Report from the Resort Manager
Kevin started by reiterating the busy and varied year, already touched on by Kevan Dean, and wanted to highlight some of the events:-

Last year it was decided that an on-site laundry would better facilitate the day-to-day housekeeping operation, giving better quality control at a cheaper cost. This was fine until we started to experience trouble with the effluent treatment plant which had not been designed to cope with the amount of water being expelled from the machine cycles. The development company decided to install a balanced flow tank with a water elevation system that allows a slow yet constant amount to be passed through the treatment plant; coupled with a reduction in the number of wash cycles, which was more conducive with our requirements, the laundry is now fully operational again.

The bar and restaurant is always a good talking point, and often because of the staff who work within these areas, and of the standard and consistency of standard that they work to. Recent dining levels have been between 30 - 65 Monday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday touching 90 – 100; equalling the Sunday Lunch Carvery. The split of diners is approximately 70% sleepers with 30% local owners and the margins being achieved are approximately 45% for food and 60% for liquor. Recently buying procedures have been changed in order to realise a greater discount across the commodity range stocked.

Kevin said that he listens very closely to the comments made by everybody and endeavours to provide what is being asked for whilst still delivering value for money. Initiatives have been introduced in the restaurant such as the mid-week ‘Wine and Dine' menu as well as the ‘Tuesday Tenner' in order to maximise the numbers using the food and beverage areas.

From a staff point of view, Kevin welcomed back Chris Dickson as the popular Head Chef from two years back and again touched on the fact that Julie Franks had left. He commented that Julie had been with Fred from day one and could always be relied upon for a smile that could light up a room. She had been fantastic with guests in a way that is unparalleled and was a good figurehead for the staff who worked under her. He thanked her for all her hard work and for being the ambassador that she was and wished her every success for the future.

Moving on to the Leisure Centre, Kevin said that usage had increased between January and July and that the monthly “Body Talks” had proved to be successful with the Back-Care and Stress Management being the most popular. Details of all presentations could be obtained from the LC Reception. Social membership is proving very popular increasing from 90 last year to 200 this with the introduction of three packages, subject to different conditions and time of use. Although this was a useful income generator, the impact on the members was minimal, increasing the average usage from 9 per hour to 11.

Kevin talked about two other initiatives that are proving popular and they are: “Chef for the Evening” who will come along and prepare dinner, serve it and then tidy up, and “Honesty Baskets” which hold a variety of confectionary and wine and run on the lines of a mini bar.

Kevin moved on to the on-going programme of maintenance across the resort and reported that the gardening contract now came under his own maintenance men within their normal duties, and at this point wanted to minute his thanks and gratitude to Mr John Mills who had been a great source of information and an extremely useful consultant – all generously given in his own time.

An on-site convenience store has also been opened in response to numerous requests from both owners and guests due to the geographical location of the Hall. However the support has been very disappointing even though the pricing has been set to simply break even and it will need to be carefully monitored in order to assess its feasibility.

Kevin closed by thanking his staff at the Hall for all their effort and hard work throughout the year, which he said had often gone above and beyond the call of duty.

John Jackson addressed the meeting to say that he had that week received a telephone call from Julie Franks requesting him to pass on her heartfelt thanks and best wishes to the Members, many of whom she regarded as good friends and who she knew she would miss dearly. She was really sorry that she had been unable to say personal goodbyes to most of them but would like to do so through the Minutes.

•  Selection of Questions From The Floor
Mrs Fisher said that she felt in-house entertainment was a waste of money and that mid-week she had regularly seen the Harpist playing to herself. Kevin Haygarth said he had already reassessed the provision of entertainment and that the Harpist would be finishing after the New Year, the Pianist had been reduced by 50% and a Vocalist would sing on a Saturday evening only.

David Jewel asked what is actually included in the Miscellaneous Income column of the Accounts. Paula Beatson replied that it was everything and anything that generated income for the resort, out with the bar and restaurant. Things such as the Lake District trips and the Honesty Baskets, Paula did comment that the accounts would be able to show much more detail in the future.

Mr Knighton asked why a 2% surcharge had been added? Paula replied that it wasn't really a surcharge but that there were and always will be inflationary increases and Members need to get used to this being applied annually. The small incentive to pay early by giving the prompt payment discount, was to try and ensure Members pay on time, as this will become even more vitally important when the resort is self-sufficient.

Mr Steele said that one of the reasons he had joined TVC was the promise that there would be a greater number of mid-week and weekend breaks. He pointed out that it had been said at these meetings that mid-week and week-end guests did spend more money than probably full week guests, however he had tried to book a mini break for three consistent months and was always told there was no availability. All the apartments had been taken by weekly guests so does that mean that the policy on holding back a percentage of the inventory has now changed? Paula Beatson replied that nothing had changed, the unsold inventory is still ceded in to the Club and on information she had brought for 2002 detailing weeks 1-46, 3,500 requests had been placed with just over 50% getting their first choice, overnights at Thurnham were at 73% and in terms of short breaks 798 had been taken with 64% of them at Thurnham. John Jackson reiterated that it was the floating owners of TVC, not fixed week owners who had access to the majority uptake at Thurnham. Paula said that nothing had changed in terms of the policy for the Club and there was still 20% of the inventory ceded, it was simply that more people were now choosing to take mid-week and weekend breaks.

Jennifer Picking pointed out that she felt Thurnham was being saturated by non-Thurnham owners and was angry that they had tried to use their own week in August and had been told it had been allocated. Paula responded that Reservations needed to know a minimum12 months in advance if TVC owners wanted to use their own week and within this timescale it would always be kept available for them. Mrs Picking pointed out that she had given more than 12 months on this occasion and requested Paula to check that there still is a minimum of 20% available inventory.

Mr Ted Kinrade told how he had sat with people who were staying at the Hall who weren't even members. Some were at the Hall and others were off-site, but surely they are adding to the saturation! Philip Broomhead responded that these people were SIV's (Special Inspection Visits) and were part of the sales programme that only use the weeks allocated to the Developer. He pointed out that none of them stay at the Hall they are all off-site, but are obviously allowed to use the facilities.

Sylvia Butler said she had previously asked for full accounts, which had not been forthcoming. Paula pointed out that this was an ongoing process. She felt that significant progress on the reporting of the financial statements had been made and she pointed out that the accounts only reflected a six month period since Mrs Butler's comments last year. She assured her that more detailed accounts would be provided next year. However, Paula still maintained that there has to be a balance between the information available and the amount of detail discussed at AGM's.

Charlie Dickinson wanted to give support to previous speakers and felt that they should all be concerned with what is happening in the Vacation Club. He wanted to simplify things by saying that if the Developer had 400 units at Cromer and 400 units at Thurnham to cede into the Vacation Club, the larger population here means he is going to have the vast majority sold here and then they would be overloading the Hall's system and not Cromer's. Mr Dickinson felt that the integration of all Sites could only be good, however he pointed out that the Vacation Club ran the Web Site and it would help no end if they could publish individual resort information too. Paula said that the web site was being re-vamped and individual resorts would be featured. A questionnaire had recently been sent out to all the members in order to find out their needs, requirements and predicted usage.

Jim Thomas asked could all the documentation be sent electronically? Paula replied that this was one of the questions on the questionnaire and once all the replies had been received the whole concept would be assessed by the IT Department together with the Directors. Philip asked for a Straw Poll and 70% of attendees had access to e-mail

 

•  Re-election of the Management Committee Member
It was time for a member of the Management Committee to retire by rotation and this year it was John Jackson. There were no other nominations received therefore John Jackson is re-elected as a member for a further three years.

•  Resolutions for consideration and voting
Philip moved on to the Resolution which would regularise the position regarding alternate year owners/members and essentially that those memberships are ratified. In terms of voting each member who has alternate year ownership is entitled to 1 vote and the members who are annual owners are entitled to two votes.

A very detailed discussion ensued where various questions were asked and answered in relation to the resolution before the voting took place. .

•  Any Other Questions

 

Mr Whittaker was concerned about the relationship etiquette between Thurnham Hall and TVC. He had spoken to James McNicol on a couple of occasions but felt his fears had still not been allayed. It was then asked if there would be a separate meeting held for TVC. Philip Broomhead responded that there was a separate set of rules governing TVC, but as yet it did not provide for a meeting.

Mr Jim Thomas asked that since GVC members now had access to II, did this mean that TVC had access to GVC? Philip responded that both GVC and TVC members had the right to exchange anywhere within the II resort directory subject to the Interval system.

Mr Kinraid was concerned about the quality of Thurnham Hall and TVC because when he tried to book a holiday he was told that Thurnham Hall was 5*, but because they were members of TVC which was not 5* they were unable to book into a 5* resort. Philip said that Thurnham Hall is a Gold Crown resort ie: in the top 5% of RCI resorts. Thurnham Vacation Club is affiliated to Interval International and because it has only recently commenced operation it has to go through a review process of one year before Interval will grant it 5* status, but they have already said that it is a 5* affiliation and will be part of their 5* programme.

Pauline Miller said she was still not happy with II and certainly not impressed with the level of resorts in Europe . Philip pointed out that RCI members could still use RCI if they are fixed week owners which was confirmed at last year's meeting. All the current management committee members still use their RCI memberships.

Angela Adams wished to point out that she had recently returned from Spain after holidaying in a GVC Gold Crown resort. Apart from the fact that they were told Thurnham were in a very shaky financial position, they were also told that RCI points had preference over fixed week. Philip did not want to comment on RCI points, and said that if people had a problem with RCI or their salesmen they would need to take it up directly with them. As for the financials he handed over to Paula. Paula said that as they could see from the financial accounts Thurnham were not in any shape or form in any financial problems and felt that a salesman may tell you anything he wants you to hear in order that you may sell your week.

 

Janet Teale felt that she would like to point out that they were relatively new fixed week owners and although she felt the meeting had been quite negative she wanted to say that she was delighted with her purchase and already this year had enjoyed 4 very successful exchanges by borrowing extra weeks and 3 to 4 lovely week-end breaks at the Hall all of which had been very smooth and easy to achieve.

 

Philip went on to announce the results of the voting as follows:-

 

In Favour Against Abstentions

Resolution 1 73 27 3

Resolution 2 75 23 3

Resolution 3 65 32 3

 

Which means with percentage scores of 71%, 74.25% and 65% respectively all three resolutions failed.

 

 

14. Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting will be Sunday 7 th December at 10:30 which will again be held as a non-smoking meeting.