Further written evidence submitted by
The Premier League
In your letter of 3 May you ask for clarification
about apparent conflicts of interest concerning the award of contracts
to a company run by Sir Dave Richards' son. This issue was raised
recently by the Yorkshire Post although the facts of the case
are perhaps more prosaic than the over-heated presentation by
the paper in its reports.
The Premier League has placed business with Glue,
the company in question, for small quantities of gift items. The
recipients vary widely, from visiting football administrators
to young children taking part in one of our good cause programmes
such as our school tournament. We do not carry stocks, as demand
varies considerably and in any event we have limited storage space.
The sums involved are insignificant and all transactions
were undertaken in the normal course of business with no involvement
of Board members. Our Chairman had no influence over, nor knowledge
of, the individual transactions in question, as they were entered
into by individual managers acting on their own initiative and
in compliance with company policies. The staff involved were aware
that Glue is run by Sir Dave's son but were solely concerned with
the core questions of price, quality and deadline. Glue is generally
competitive on price, quality and reliability, on the basis of
which they were able on occasion to secure some relatively small
orders. These orders will typically have been placed by middle
managers and all were signed off by a member of senior management
to make sure the relevant processes were being observed.
Given their relatively small value, these transactions
did not require the Chairman's or the Board's approval and so
there is no question of the Premier League's interest having been
subordinated or a material conflict of interest arising with the
Chairman's position. Our processes for larger contracts do require
Board approval, that where appropriate, a fully transparent tender
process be carried out and that any potential interest be declared
before decisions are taken. No Glue contract has been above the
delegated authority levels that require reporting to the Board.
I hope that this gives you the information you seek.
Of course if you require anything further I would be happy to
provide it.
May 2011
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