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Finances
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FINANCES
1.
The GFTU has transferred its investment portfolio
from Credit Suisse to two investment managers,
Brook MacDonald and City Asset Management
chosen after tender. The performance has improved
in line with general improvements in equity
markets. Performance reporting arrangements have
improved.
2.
The accounts of the General Federation of Trade
Unions for 2015 and 2016 have been approved by
the Executive Committee.
3.
The accounts of the Pensions Scheme have been
prepared and will be considered by the Trustees at
their next meeting.
4.
The accounts of the Educational Trust have been
prepared and will be considered by the Trustees at
their next meeting.
5.
The accounts of the GFTU ET Trading Company
and Albion Education and Training Ltd will be
considered at their next meeting.
6.
A new professionally organised finance team has
been organised which in addition to strengthening
the GFTU’s own financial management enables us
to provide financial administration, accounting and
auditing to other partners and trade unions. Already
this facility has been taken up under service level
agreements by three other parties.
7.
New financial procedures, systems and policies
have been adopted throughout.
8.
A Finance and General Purposes sub-committee of
the Executive Committee monitors the finances in
detail between EC meetings and takes necessary
external professional advice..
9.
Management accounts are produced monthly,
key performance indicator records are monitored
bi-weekly, budgets are set and performance against
budget is assessed monthly.
10. The Executive Committee has agreed to focus
investment plans and due diligence at this stage on
the expansion of the Quorn Grange site. This plan
includes new houses for rent, a new double sized
nursery facility, and 24 new rooms for the hotel.
11. Three business plans for each element of the plan
have been considered by the EC and subjected to
external professional scrutiny. A valuation of the
planned project has been obtained, a cash flow
projection and a new build time line.
12. Planning permission for the project was granted in
February 2017.
13. Affiliates are encouraged to make the most and
best possible use of Quorn Grange Hotel.
14. The GFTU’s strategy has been to ask the Educational
Trust to become more self-sufficient and reliant and
to consider new ways of raising revenues consistent
with our objectives and ethics. A range of new
services with commission and benefit to the Trust
have consequently been introduced alongside the
capacity to run union financial work and training at
cost.
15. We have returned a better financial picture over the
last two years than for some time.
16. The GFTU will be seeking to generate capital for
its new build at Quorn from a combination of
resources from its own reserves, commercial loans,
partnership arrangements with affiliates and joint
ventures. We see this as a co-operative project.