Trust voting recommendations for the 2007 PLC AGM

The position of Chairman of Celtic is a very special position as Celtic is more than just a business. It is an important sporting and cultural institution with a large number of stakeholders, many of whom are not amongst its 22,000 shareholders. Therefore, when conducting a search for a candidate to fulfil this position we believe Celtic should conduct a wide-ranging search for a candidate who would:

· be a supporter
· be successful in their field, be it in business or public service
· have no association with political or business controversy
· have some profile in the charitable/social activism field reflecting the charitable origins of Celtic through its founder Brother Walfrid
. be truly independent of the major shareholders, so that they can represent the interest of all shareholders, large and small, as well as the interests of the other non-shareholder supporters of Celtic

At today’s meeting Trust members took the view that Dr Reid’s nomination reflected:

· a preference to seek a candidate from the same narrow pool of candidates of business people and politicians from which the boards of all large football clubs are populated, and that a more broadly representative candidate would have been preferable,
· that there were questions, raised in the media and elsewhere, regarding his degree of independence from one major shareholder,
· that he is widely associated in the public mind with political controversy in particular, in relation to his position as Minister for Defence during the war in Iraq.


For these reasons the Trust recommends that members and supporters vote to oppose Dr Reid’s nomination as Chairman of Celtic Plc.

The Trust recommends voting for resolutions 1 and 2 as they are uncontroversial; we recommend voting against Dermot Desmond as he has made public his complete opposition to any supporter involvement in the running of the club; we recommend abstaining on the election of Ian Livingstone as his selection came from the same limited search process; we recommend voting for the re-election of Eric Riley as he has a proven track record on the board; we recommend abstaining on the re-election of Brian McBride on the basis of the limited information we have and we took a similar view on the remaining resolutions.


The other recommendations are as follows:

Report & Accounts For

Remuneration Report For

Election of John Reid Against

Election of Ian Livingston Abstain

Re-election of Eric Riley For

Re-election of Brian McBride Abstain

Re-election of Dermot Desmond Against

Long Term Incentive Plan Abstain

Authority to allocate shares Abstain

Disapplication of pre-emption rights
where shares are allocated for cash. Abstain