Administrator’s Report

ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

MAX DONNELLY

“The delivery of the new PLC car park, Kicks Tenpin & Arcade, the upgraded restaurant areas and Jacks micro-brewery provide a diversification of revenue for the Club…”

Dear Members

I am pleased to report that Parramatta Leagues Club (PLC) and the Parramatta National Rugby League Limited (PNRL) have continued to make progress in 2018.

Some key business highlights for the PLC group include: -

• Delivery and completion of major building projects including the new PLC car park, Kicks Tenpin &

Arcade, and the Jacks micro-brewery.

• Substantial improvement in the financial position of the Eels including the best financial result for PNRL in five years.

• Signing a new multiyear agreement to become the anchor tenant of the new Bankwest Stadium

The strong business performance of both organisations highlight how important the governance reforms undertaken in PNRL were for both organisations. With a strong skills based Board now in place, the PNRL has importantly started to reduce the financial impact on the overall group allowing the PLC to undertake much needed investment in its core business operations.

Financial Performance

The financial performance of PLC group saw it deliver a $3.5 million profit for the 12-month period ending 31st October 2018. This was a strong and resilient result when you consider that a number of the key building projects had an impact to the trading operations of the PLC business.

Importantly, the delivery of the new PLC car park, Kicks Tenpin & Arcade, the upgraded restaurant areas and Jacks micro-brewery provide a diversification of revenue for the Club and major opportunities for growth when combined with the new Bankwest Stadium.

It is a credit to Bevan Paul and his management team that PLC maintained profitability while completing these important key infrastructure projects. The Club now has a strong platform to take advantage of new revenue opportunities and an upgraded venue ready for the return of Eels home games in 2019. I congratulate him and his team for their performance for 2018.

A major positive of 2018 was the financial performance of PNRL which has obviously taken place despite the disappointing results of the NRL team. PNRL had a trading loss of $3,993,169 for the year ended 31 October 2018, a substantial improvement on the $10,156,596 loss of 2017 and the $12,016,648 loss of 2016.

PNRL

The 2018 NRL season was a major disappointment especially following our 4th placing in 2017. The PNRL Board determined that the outcome on the field required an extensive and independent review.

As a result of this review the PNRL Board endorsed a number of key recommendations which included:

• A confirmation that the Parramatta Eels will be a

Development Club focusing on Junior Talent that will drive the strategic direction for its football program

• Increased investment in the Football Department with additional resources to be placed into the coaching and development areas including our elite junior development programs

• The re-entry of the Parramatta Eels into the NSW

Cup in 2020 to ensure consistency across the full elite development pathway

• Appointment of Mark O’Neill as our new General

Manager of Football

The review provided the opportunity to assess our Club against best practice sporting organisations and to ensure that our Club has the process and structures in place to deliver sustainable success both on and off the field.

In August 2018, I stepped down as Chairman of PNRL to focus on the next stage of the Parramatta Leagues Club (PLC) governance reform process. I will however, remain on the Parramatta Eels Club Board as one of the two PLC-nominated Directors.

My intention was always to oversee a smooth transition to a new Chairman at the appropriate time and I am pleased to say that we have achieved that goal with the unanimous endorsement of Sean McElduff as our Club’s new Chairman.

Sean has a strong record as a business leader through his previous senior roles at Westpac and I have every confidence that he will provide tremendous leadership for the Club going forward. Parramatta Leagues Club Governance Reforms

The PLC governance reform process continued throughout 2018 and in November 2018 a General Meeting (GM) was held to vote on these reforms. A substantial majority (nearly two thirds) of Members who attended the November General Meeting voted in favour of my proposed draft constitution.

While the voting did not reach the necessary 75 per cent, the majority of speakers within the Meeting and the resulting vote showed that PLC Members have a significant appetite to reform the governance of the Club and ensure stability at Board and management level.

Following an extensive consultation process with Members there are now two remaining issues. The first being that (as with previous years) a ballot should be held to elect seven new directors and the second being the removal of the Nominations Committee from the proposed draft constitution.

My appointment by the Independent Liquor Gaming Authority (ILGA) included a clear objective to improve the PLC governance arrangements. There is one opportunity to get these reforms right and therefore it remains my intention to get the right governance reforms in place before I conclude my appointment.

I would like to close my correspondence by again thanking our Members for their tremendous support and encouragement throughout the year. I look forward to a positive and exciting 2019 for our organisation.

Max Donnelly Administrator of Parramatta Leagues Club Ltd Chairman of Parramatta National Rugby League Club Pty Ltd