I intend to split my statement to you into the following sections. First is a review of the share sales, marketing, company finances and our activities. Second will be our relations with the club. Third will be a statement on the board view of the current consultations regarding the Stamford Bridge.

We last met at the end of January 2014 when we reported progress in both share sales, regaining financial control over the company as well as re-establishing activities such as our dinners. Progress has continued this year.

Firstly, share sales. While the numbers are down on the previous financial year, we have continued to broaden the base of shareholders. As last year we are selling to individuals rather than in block numbers. Of the 574 sold, 77% were individual sales. One of the primary aims when we established the new board back in 2012 was to sell more than 1,548 shares that were oversold in 2011. To date we have sold 1,510, and so will surpass this total within the next two months. We are, as ever, grateful to you and to those who have bought shares for their commitment.

Second is the marketing of CPO. We would like to publicly thank those who are assisting our efforts to sell shares and promote our events. These range from CFCUK and Francis Glibbery with our typesetting & advertising, and to the various people around the club who go out of their way and add to their workload by assisting CPO. May I also thank those who are making efforts to promote us abroad. We are still seeking to tap into this market around the world and assistance is welcome.

The Pitch Presentations remain very popular, and a few spaces are left for the remainder of this season – see Charles later to book up! We are regularly advertising and having news articles in the match day programme and whilst the revamping of the club website and servers presented challenges, we now have faster and better access to the CPO website than before. We are however not complacent in this respect. There is more that can be done, but to do so will need more assistance. More of this later.

Other initiatives we have had this year included the highly successful Jose Mourinho-signed share offer that was limited to 10 special framed shares at £500. The response was even better than we had hoped and we plan to have similar special offers in due course. We have taken steps this year to clean up our databases although more work on this remains to be done.

The last item to mention before moving onto our accounts, is the Special One Dinner last March.

At our AGM last year we announced that all tickets were sold. We are grateful to Chelsea and their staff for assisting us to move the event to the Great Hall, and thereby being able to sell more tickets to what was a truly memorable event. I would like to publicly thank Jose for attending this, and I hope he used his vote as Shareholder number 1 wisely!

As last year, may I reiterate that the board perfectly understand that the ticket price does exclude some of our supporters. This is not an intentional policy but is driven by the need to raise funds to make CPO profitable. The board are open to proposals for smaller events but to do so will need extra assistance in a competitive market.

The success of that dinner has greatly contributed to the 74% reduction on our losses since the last financial year.

So to this year’s accounts that you have in front of you. We continue to make real progress in reducing the losses that CPO has made in recent years. For the financial year in question it is around a quarter of the loss from the last financial year being a loss of £13,224, compared with £51,607.

It may seem odd that this is seen as a success, but bearing in mind that last year the loss was over £51,000 your board is happier than previously.

This has been achieved through two major factors. The first is through the fundraising at the One Special Evening dinner. I would like to thank all those who worked on the evening and contributed prizes for the auction.

The second is through cost control. Charles has worked to minimise costs at every turn. Of course the fewer hours that are clocked up with lawyers greatly assists with this effort, and I am glad that the legal issues of previous years have subsided currently.

At last year’s meeting you, the shareholders, made it very plain that you thought that as landlords we should not be charged for room hire for this meeting. Acting on your behalf I am glad to say that we persuaded the club to waive the room charge and I thank them for this.

You will also see from both the results and indeed from the announcement on the website that we recommenced repayment of the debt this year, to the tune of £50,000. This is an indication that CPO is not only alive and well but prepared to meet its obligations to the Club. We have prioritised increased shareholder numbers over profit margin. For instance at the dinner and through the José Mourinho share deal, where two shares per table and three shares per framed certificate were on offer. We believe that the sales of shares are fundamental to CPO.

We are also aware that not everyone who wishes to join us can afford the £100 in one go. That is why we have introduced the pay-as-you-can scheme, whereby people can buy a share in instalments affordable to them. Details are on the website and we would appreciate it if you could all point this out when potential new shareholders raise this as an issue: you are our best ambassadors.

I am also pleased to report that share applications are being turned around quickly and often within 24 hours, as was the case in the run up to our busiest period before Christmas.

Your board have also striven to ensure that CPO remains as open and transparent as possible. Our board minutes are published on the website and if you want to know what is going on that is your first port of call.

Throughout this address I have appealed for further assistance. Please be aware that we neither have, nor can afford, any paid employees. We largely rely on voluntary work, and so if you feel that you wish to organise or assist in any initiative, we would be happy to hear from you.

Now I turn to the relations with Chelsea Football Club. As in previous years we have had access to the officials at the club on a regular basis. Their help in provision of share selling and fundraising initiatives has already been acknowledged. Unlike previous years we have not sought any formal meetings as the need has not arisen.

However most of you will be aware of the consultation in progress currently on behalf of the owner of the club regarding environmental improvements to the area surrounding Stamford Bridge.

As a key stakeholder - their words - in the future of the stadium at Stamford Bridge we were approached in August of last year for a meeting that was held late in that month.

Some of you in this room also met with the consultants on separate occasions through other interests. The consultation was stated to be about regeneration of the Fulham Road and the local streetscape. We have been told that this is completed and have been invited to view this.

We have been in regular dialogue for an update on the consultations ahead of proposed environmental improvements to be carried out on the areas surrounding (but not including) Stamford Bridge. There are clearly sensitivities involved in any process of this nature and the information we have been given is limited to the following statement:

“The response from the streetscape consultation last year was hugely positive. This should help the club with any plans to redevelop the current stadium”

Like everyone else we are aware that the consultations are intended as a precursor to redeveloping and expanding the stadium. As landlord the process ensures we would be among the first to know about any planning applications. In the meantime you can be certain that each of the directors is committed to the objects of the Company and will not act inconsistently with those objects in their dealings with the Club

Your board is aware of the speculation and intense interest of you our shareholders, but have taken the view that we would not comment or speculate on matters to do with the consultation until facts are known.

I am aware from the questions already submitted that this is the topic of most interest to you, and we will return to this shortly in the question and answer section coming up.

So, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the board it will give me pleasure to request that you vote in favour of the resolutions put to the meeting after the question and answer session that will now follow.