GHA Sports Charity – Championing Community Sport
Who are we?
The GHA community at Braidholm is managed by two separate but complementary companies.
Most in the rugby community are aware of GHA Rugby Football Club Limited (GHARFCL) who manage the teams, clubhouse and of course fund-raising events.
The second, somewhat behind the scenes, is the Glasgow Hutchesons’ Aloysians Sports Club Limited (GHASCL), sometimes referred to as simply the “Trust”. However, GHASCL is a registered charity and thus, going forwards, we would prefer to be known as the GHA “Charity”, which better reflects our activity and aspirations for the GHA Community. The Charity exists predominantly to support the rugby community at Braidholm now and in the future.
How does the charity operate?
The Charity is subject to oversight by OSCR, the Office of Scottish Charities Regulator. As a registered charity and with an associated VAT status we aim to attract donations. We also bid for grants and loans from public and private organisations. The express purpose of our activity is to develop and improve the facilities at GHA and the wider community.
Our board of directors volunteer to serve and receive no remuneration. All but three of the directors are members of the GHA Club, however all have a good working knowledge of the Club and share our aspirations for the future and the community at GHA. The board meets at least four times a year and has an AGM where the accounts are scrutinised and approved. A representative from the Club, usually the President, aמּends the Charity’s board meetings and reports on the Club’s business and observes the Charity board meeting discussions.
The Charity acts as landlord to the GHA Club which pays rent to the Charity, principally to fund loan repayments. This structure helps protect the assets of the Braidholm rugby community. The Charity has inherited and has built up considerable assets with a book value in excess of £2m. As such, the board manages the significant assets and estate ensuring they are insured and maintained. Depending on the various projects such as negotiations with East Renfrewshire Council, grant or loan applications, individual or groups of directors work on these projects and then report to the Chairman and the rest of the board at the relevant meetings.
OUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE
GHA Rugby Club is moving forward both on the field and off the field. Some changes to the Club’s structure are planned and the Club’s board has bold ambitions to become Scotland’s leading community rugby club, from Minis to Premiership and establish a permanent place in the Premiership. We in the Charity are determined to help with their plans as well as develop the wider aims and ambitions of the Charity.
We will move to establish a more active role and offer our board members to assist in certain areas of expertise where Club projects and plans require this. We also plan to lever our charitable status to raise more funds for the club, both from within the Club and from external funding opportunities. One such project on the horizon is refurbishment of the 3G pitch. The Charity and the Club are looking at options on how to resource this project. Further, we plan to introduce a Club member Donations Plan. We will invite all members paying a subscription to consider donating a one-off or monthly donations to the Charity to be invested back to the club for named projects.
Moving forward, we are also looking to utilise the full remit of the charity, which is wider than just the sport of rugby. We are a “Sports Club Charity” and so we will seek opportunities to support the growth of other sports within the Braidholm facilities as part of our community at GHA. In short we aspire to “Champion Community Sport” at Braidholm.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
We currently have a full board of directors but vacancies occur from time to time. We therefore welcome suitably qualified individuals to notify the Chairman of their interest in joining the board which we seek to make as representative and diverse as our community.
We are keen to develop a board that can represent different sections of the Rugby Club such as Minis, Seniors and a future Women’s section. In addition, we are open to directors with links to other sports sections such as American Football, soccer, running and from Hutchesons’ and Aloysian FPs.
We have a number of interesting projects being considered jointly with the Rugby Club. We would welcome volunteers who do not wish to sit on the Charity board but are willing to support the charity, possibly with specialist knowledge in specific areas.
We also wish to invite interested parties to donate directly to our work and invite other charities and sports organisations to approach us and discuss how we can work together for the good of the community. Please get in touch with us if you would like to find out more, or have in interest or expertise you feel could further support the charity.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
A full set of accounts can be viewed upon request from the Chairman.
Balance Sheet Summary as of 31 March 2025
| £,000 | £,000 | Notes | ||||||||
| Fixed Assets: | Tangible | 473 | Fixtures and fittings | |||||||
| Investments | 2,160 | Principally the clubhouse | ||||||||
| Total | 2,633 | |||||||||
| Current Assets: | Debtors | 5 | ||||||||
| Cash in bank | 21 | |||||||||
| Creditors (1 year) | 143 | |||||||||
| Net Current (liabilities) / assets | -117 | includes historic loan from GHARFC of £100,840 | ||||||||
| Creditors (after 1 year) | -112 | Remaining SIS Loan | ||||||||
| Total Net Assets: | 2,404 | |||||||||
About us - A brief history
Rugby at Braidholm has a long a varied history dating back to the 1960s with Clarkston RFC, Glasgow Southern and now GHA. The intent behind the current structure was initially laid down when Clarkston RFC took possession of the grounds at Braidholm in the late Sixties and built the former clubhouse. All of the funds required were raised over many years and it was deemed sensible to set up a separate organisation, Clarkston Braidholm Ltd, to build and own the clubhouse asset and its ground footprint, and to be the leaseholder of the grounds. To that end the club provided the funds raised amounting to £108K by way of a loan to Clarkston Braidholm Ltd and that loan remains in both balance sheets of the renamed club and the successor company of Clarkston Braidholm (i.e. GHA Sports Trust Ltd.) There are no repayment or interest payable conditions aמּached to that loan.
Over the years the grounds were improved and the current clubhouse built. In tandem with the rugby club’s the sister company Clarkston Braidholm Ltd became Glasgow Southern Sports Club Ltd and then in 2002 with the amalgamation of Glasgow Southern and Hutchesons’ Aloysians to form GHA Rugby Club, GHASCL inherited much of the assets and responsibilities of its predecessors. However, in 2016, the company structure was changed and GHASCL was established as company limited by guarantee and as a registered charity. At the same time GHA Rugby Football Club was incorporated as company limited by guarantee.
A key factor in these changes was the plan to fund and build the 3G pitch in 2018. None of these changes were undertaken lightly. All interested parties at the time were consulted and when the current arrangements were set up with GHASCL established as a charity and the new GHARFC set up as a company, Wright Johnston and Mackenzie were employed to advise and prepare company documents and a raﬞft of associated lease documents.
The rationale for establishing two separate entities in the past and again in 2016 was to establish a company which could protect and manage the estate with significant assets of over £2m and act as landlord
to the club. The rugby activities would be run by the board of GHARFC and that company would seek to make sufficient income from all activities to pay the landlord. A significant advantage of GHASCL operating as a charity is that it can aמּract donations from commercial
companies, from other charities and indeed private donations from GHARFC members and others. Giﬞft Aid can be claimed. As a VAT registered company, VAT can be reclaimed from activities such as the
building of the 3G pitch.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Should you wish further information please contact:
Kenneth Dalby
Chairman of the GHA Charity
Email: [email protected]
Mob: 0780 819 8008
