A huge thank you to members who attended the Hibernian Supporters AGM at the Hibs Club on Thursday 16th April, either in person or online, and a huge thanks to everyone at the HSA for accommodating us again this year.
Agenda: Chairman’s Welcome, Accounts Overview, Membership Overview, Board Changes; Review of the Year (Ended 31st January 2026), Hibs Supporters’ Panel, Building membership
Directors present: Jim Adie, Gordon Smith, Peter McDermott, Daniel Shields
Welcome
Chairman Jim Adie thanked members for their support over the last year, reflected on the changing ownership circumstances in light of the Black Knight departure from the football club and reiterated the importance of a continued growth in membership in order to keep up our financial support of the club moving forward.
Accounts
Peter McDermott presented the annual accounts for year ended 31st January 2026, noting £134,041 income thanks to regular donations from our members (vs. £118,470 in 2024 and £150,251 in 2024). Peter also noted £17,470 of expenses throughout the year, largely in relation to website redevelopment and marketing costs.
Investment in Hibernian Football Club over the 12 months to 31st January 2026 was £350,292 (vs. £209,780 in 2025 and £24,720 in 2024), of which £346,702 was used to purchase shares in the club, with the remainder spent on sponsorship activities with HFC throughout the year.
The investment marks over £550,000 being invested in the club over the last two years, with over £1.1million provided by supporters since 2021.
Accounts and the reappointment of JRW Hogg as the company’s auditors was unanimously agreed by those present at the meeting and also via proxy.
Membership Overview
Daniel Shields noted the importance of regular direct debit contributors over the total number of full Hibernian Supporters members in light of the ongoing financial obligations with the club.
Noted the number of monthly direct debit contributors currently sits at 783 vs. 700 in April 2025, and 840 in April 2024.
It was agreed to return to the topic of membership and regular direct debit contributors later in the meeting.
Board Changes
Jim Adie confirmed Scott Millar and Duncan Smith had stepped down from the board ahead of the AGM, and thanked them for their support and enthusiasm during their time as directors.
Jim reiterated the need for assistance as we move forward and invited members to consider whether they, or anyone they know, may be able to offer expertise and time in either a formal or informal capacity as we look ahead to the next 12 months.
Review of the Year
The board reflected on the last 12 months, where Hibernian Supporters have been Principal Partners of the club.
Daniel noted a slight frustration in the levels of success in relation to an increase in membership numbers in the last year, with a hope that the partnership would have resulted in a more drastic positive change in regular contributor numbers.
Peter, Gordon and Jim discussed an improved relationship with the club at senior management level – including Ian Gordon and Dan Barnett – over the last 12 months and shared their hope that a better understanding of how HSL can play a positive role with the club moving forward could allow us to resonate with a larger section of the support.
The Hibernian Visitor Centre was noted as a positive example of working with the club to deliver a tangible result which benefits the club, HSL members and the wider support.
It was agreed that more examples of the tangible benefits of contributing to HSL are required in order to create clearer messaging for supporters, with a view to encouraging them to either restart their monthly payments or sign up for the very first time.
Hibs Supporters’ Panel
Peter discussed our involvement in the Hibs’ Supporters Panel over the course of the season with Scott Millar.
Hibernian Supporters were invited to help shape the Supporters’ Panel, attend every meeting on behalf of our members and also provide the independent minutes from each meeting.
Peter noted the positive impact the panel has already had; with changes to retail operations, supporter communications and fan experience at home and on the road coming as a result of discussions at panel meetings.
The engagement from club management and staff has been well received, and the commitment to increase the number of panel meetings from next season will give our members ever more opportunity to share their views with the club.
Building Membership
The biggest discussion point of the evening was around how we can grow our membership and make signing up to Hibernian Supporters an attractive and obvious proposition for all Hibs fans.
Jim emphasised the difficult situation HSL could find itself in if there were to be further share issues in the near future, without a significant increase in regular contributions.
Despite being able to participate in the last two share issues, Jim noted our involvement in these has left us very low on reserve funding, resulting in the real possibility of the organisation’s 7% shareholding being diluted in future share issues if we are unable to meet our financial obligations.
While the organisation’s target has always been to obtain 25.1% of ownership in the club, Jim made clear that while that goal is not technically impossible, it is highly unlikely that we’ll be able to reach that figure in the short and medium term with the level of investment being made in the club in recent years.
As we continue to invest in the club and purchase shares, with the club’s other significant shareholders also doing so, we have been unable to increase our percentage share of ownership in HFC.
Despite this, Jim reiterated the value we have been able to provide the club over the last 10 years and made clear we are determined not to see our shareholding being diluted any further.
In order to do this, it is clear we need to drastically increase the number of supporters who are contributing on a monthly basis.
Daniel noted the success of £1.1million in financial support to the club over the last six years by ordinary supporters looking to do a little bit more, while also sharing enthusiasm at the possibilities with season ticket sales and Easter Road attendances at modern record highs.
With more than 10,000 season tickets sold before the seat release deadline earlier this month, there is a huge amount of room to grow from our current position of 783 monthly contributors.
There was general agreement in the room that the messaging and marketing is key, with opinion that a move away from talking directly about shares or 25.1% ownership would be advisable.
Instead, members present felt a clear purpose and regular communication about the tangible, real world benefits to HFC and Hibs fans of making monthly payments to Hibernian Supporters would be key to success.
There was discussion around the club’s fans-first and community engagement aims, with HSL in a strong position to support these and reinforce a positive relationship between HFC and the fanbase.
All directors present committed to working closely with members and the club to explore a change in messaging and ensure all opportunities to spread the word about the work and benefits of HSL to all Hibs fans are fully utilised.
Closing
Jim thanked all members for their support throughout the year, and for their attendance at the meeting.
If you have any questions at all in relation to the AGM, or the events of the last 12 months, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email at [email protected].
All members are also encouraged to reach out if you feel you’d like to support the continued growth of Hibernian Supporters for the betterment and success of Hibernian FC.
Thank you, as ever, for your ongoing commitment and support.
Always Hibs.