Links Trust by Euan Loudon

Wed, Feb 23rd 2022 at 12:50 pm - 2:00 pm

"Not a mere Pastime" for Euan Loudon who has recently retired.

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Euan Loudon, recently retired as Chief Executive of The Links Trust. “Not a mere pastime” was the fitting title of his talk, in which he spoke of the challenges the Trust had experienced during his time in office. The most significant was the unexpected arrival of the Covid pandemic, which was to play havoc with the day-to-day operation and finances of the Trust. Euan began, however, by highlighting just how special St Andrews is as an internationally recognised location for the game of golf. On first coming to his new position, it had taken time to understand the uniqueness of the job, overseeing the most renowned golf course in the world. The early ‘90s had seen the development, by the Trust, of new courses and the construction of better facilities for local and visiting golfers. Euan foresaw the need for cost containment, revenue enhancement and continuing investment, and by 2019 the Trust was debt free and beginning to build up financial reserves. Just in time, because then came Covid, with a large proportion of the staff on furlough and a huge reduction in the Trust’s reserves. Euan believes it could take ten years to rebuild business resilience whilst also addressing the vulnerability of the Trust’s assets due to climate change and the need to implement a green net-zero agenda. His well-received presentation gave members an insight into the work of the Trust under difficult circumstances. The vote of Thanks was given by Rotarian Douglas Jackson.