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John Wood, the MAC's chairman points out that it was a “sheer coincidence” that the expiry almost coincided with the centenary. However, it was to prove advantageous in the way in which it focussed attention. The initial problem was that Sir Francis Winnington, the owner of the land, was ageing and the estate was held in trust for his heirs. One of these, Sir Anthony Winnington has now taken over but at the time, recalls Wood, “who knew what the future would hold?”
The old lease was only for the road, paddock and a few buildings and only allowed the club to run meetings on a limited number of days a year. The new lease included the farm buildings at the bottom of the hill which, if it was to be secure about the future, the club needed to be in control of as well; had they been leased separately for domestic purposes the future of the hill as a motorsport venue could have been in jeopardy. “We were conscious of what had happened at other venues,” says Wood. To acquire the total 99-year lease the club needed to find £1 1/4 million.
In order to approach the problem the MAC established the Shelsley Walsh Trust. It also looked at the possibility of charitable status but decided that this would be too restrictive. On the plus side it could see the possibilities of the old farmhouse, which came with a complete water wheel. The potential includes a visitors' centre, a museum and a home for the MAC's extensive archives. It could also be that these, unlike the track itself, would be suitable for charitable status.
Under the trust the MAC began to see the way forward and think about ways of fund raising. It was observed that there would be value in establishing a PLC in that this would enable certain individual and corporate sponsors to take a viable share in the future operation. Thus Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb PLC was formed. To take shares one had to be one of the increasing number of members of the MAC.
The club's own centenary celebratory meeting at the hill in 2001 had “opened our eyes as to how successful Shelsley Walsh could be,” says Wood. He pays tribute to Charles (Lord) March and what he has achieved at Goodwood. The historic movement is one of the few growth areas in motorsport and, as Wood observes, there is nowhere else in the world where cars that span 100 years (Tudor Roberts' 1907 Mercedes 45HP was the oldest car at the August meeting) can compete at the same venue as they made their original appearances. To this can be added the fact that Shelsley is still in regular use for modern competition.
The 2001 meeting had made a significant surplus and the MAC could see that it “was not simply a local club but was actually a reasonable little business.” It was beginning to realise that a combination of the uniqueness of Shelsley Walsh and the growth in retro-style events was “something quite significant.” Wood is at pains to point out that Shelsley is the MAC's “USP”. “We need to run Shelsley Walsh in the modern era but retain its uniqueness.”
It has become important that the MAC is run on sound commercial lines. “It has to be a small but professionally run business,” says Wood.
Given the fact that “going the charity route” was not viable, the decision to establish a PLC became the “most sensible thing to do.” It certainly enabled the club to raise the £850,000 needed by the middle of the year to secure the lease premium. The minimum shareholding was of £1,250 and a number of benefactors were, recalls Wood “very generous”.
Various methods of fund raising were called upon. Some, such as raffles, were obvious. The most novel, and one which received a fair amount of deserved publicity was to “sell” enthusiasts their own square yard of tarmac at £125 a go. A further £1/2 million is still needed to restore the farm building and other parts of the site but that does not have to be raised for at least the next four or five years.
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