Why was LOFT founded?

We created LOFT back in 2001 because a number of fans believed that there was a need for an independent supporters’ organisation that could articulate the views of Orient supporters, lobby the club and provide the basis for some element of fan ownership of the football club. At the time Barry Hearn was the owner of Leyton Orient, and had made clear his objectives and commitment to the club. We weren’t formed with the express purpose of trying to replace him at all – indeed, he was a guest at a number of our meetings – but we did want to be there for the day when he decided that he’d had enough and was selling up. That day came when the club was sold in July 2014, and the decline and near-liquidation of the club under its next owner has been well-documented.

Why is LOFT still needed?

Looking back at those times from 2025, from the position of a rejuvenated Leyton Orient under an ownership that has supporter engagement at its heart, it might be easy to think a supporters’ trust isn’t needed any more. We disagree, as the past shows that an involved and engaged fanbase is crucial to the health of a football club. The announcement of a new majority shareholder at the club only serves to highlight that. The forthcoming implementation of an Independent Football Regulator, which will have powers regarding fan representation, also shows that LOFT needs to be a part of the future of the club.

Even apart from the club’s own recent past, the number of clubs in trouble up and down the country – and the many cases where self-serving and unscrupulous people have bought and run clubs for their own benefit – serve as a constant reminder that we need to think as much about the future as we do the present. The stronger the involvement of the fans in the life and ownership of their clubs, the stronger their voice, their powers of scrutiny and their ability to ensure that their clubs are run properly.

The likes of Bury and Macclesfield stand as warnings of how badly it can go wrong. After the trauma, it’s always the fans who are left to pick up the pieces, and who generally who end up owning and/or running the club through their own Trust. Owners come and go, but fans are forever.

It was precisely because there was an active Supporters’ Trust at Leyton Orient that we were able to “Stand up for the Orient” against a clearly-unsuitable owner, when some said we should not “bite the hand that feeds us” and “be careful what you wish for”…

What exactly is a Supporters’ Trust?

A Supporters’ Trust is an independent, democratically-organised supporters’ organisation that seeks to represent the views of the fans to the Club and help promote communication from the club to the fans. All Trusts are formally-constituted legal bodies – see our Governance page for more details. LOFT, like many other Supporters’ Trusts, was formed as an Industrial and Provident Society, but following a change in the law is now a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

What does being a Supporters’ Trust mean?

It means that there are rules that we have to follow and principles that we have to uphold (our rules are available on our Governance page). We have to abide by the legal requirements that are established for registered societies: we have to have a constitution and a properly constituted structure. We are compelled to be a not-for-profit organisation, to present accounts to the Financial Conduct Authority, and to have an Annual General Meeting. Our Rules can only be changed once the FCA has agreed them. The Trust is owned by its members and run by a democratically-elected Board.

Who holds your Board to account?

The most important people that make sure that the Trust does as it is supposed to are our members themselves. They make and approve policy, they elect a Board and if they don’t like them they’ll kick them out and elect a new one. Then there is the Financial Conduct Authority, who now ensures that all registered societies – from the mammoth Co-Operative Society down to the smallest local group – act in accordance with the law. And there’s the Football Supporters’ Association (the FSA), who ensure that all the supporters’ trusts are working properly and legally.

Does LOFT want to run the club?

No. Prior to (and since) 2016-17, it has simply never been realistic or necessary. Financial events at clubs that were formerly owned by their Trusts (such as Stockport County and Rushden & Diamonds) showed that supporter-ownership is just as fraught with dangers as traditional single ownership. We are and have been content to be a ‘critical friend’ to the club and to promote share ownership and a representative, democratic Trust that speaks with a loud voice. To that end, LOFT (through the generosity of our members) bought shares in the two club share issues in the early 2000s, and currently owns over 8,000 shares in Leyton Orient Football Club Limited.

Did LOFT want to take over the club in 2017?

Short answer – no.

In early 2017, with the club’s very existence under threat from an absent owner who wasn’t paying the bills, we did our best to prepare for the worst (liquidation of the club) while hoping for the best. We learned early on of the attempts by long-term fan Nigel Travis to form a consortium to buy the club, and his (and Kent Teague’s) extended negotiations with the then-owner. We played our part in helping mobilise the fanbase, campaign in the media and keep the pressure on from the shareholder side of things; all the while keeping in touch with Nigel to ensure that what we did helped his negotiations, until at last the club was sold on 22 June 2017. But throughout that period, the sale of the club was never guaranteed – the fact that it dragged on for months proved that.

If a deal hadn’t been concluded, then what happened to Bury or Macclesfield could have happened at Leyton Orient a couple of years beforehand, so the only responsible thing to do was to prepare for all eventualities. That meant planning for raising money to be part of a fan-led takeover, dealing with administration or (worst case scenario) forming a ‘phoenix club’ if the club was liquidated. That didn’t mean we wanted that to happen, quite the opposite, but as a fan-run group we had to be prepared for that to happen. So if that had been the only way to secure a Leyton Orient Football Club for the future, yes we would have had to take over the club. There’s no football without the O’s.

What happened to the Regeneration Fund?

The money we raised during the 2017 crisis is protected and subject to a vote of our members every year on whether to retain or repurpose it. See our Fundraising page for further details.

Why does LOFT own shares in Leyton Orient FC?

Because it meant that, at the very least, there is a small part of Leyton Orient that is forever owned collectively by the fans, with the shares held in trust in their name. They can never be sold for profit, and it further cements the role of fans in the life of the club. Most importantly, however, it meant that we put money into the club in exchange for a tangible share in the ownership of the club.

While it may be a tiny percentage of the overall shareholding, it also means that collectively fans have a stake in the club, and as shareholders have the right to be represented at General Meetings (AGMs are no longer a legal requirement), have a right to the accounts, to question the Directors and be treated with the respect that businesses generally accrue to their shareholders. We become active participants, not moaners and critics on the sidelines. If you become a LOFT member then you automatically ‘part-own’ a bit of your football club, along with the many individual small shareholders.

Are you trying to replace the Supporters Club?

Absolutely not! Many LOFT members are also members of the Supporters Club, and everyone recognises what an excellent job they do as part of the social fabric of Leyton Orient. LOFT’s aims and objectives are different from anything the Supporters Club does, and we firmly believe that there is a role for the two organisations at Leyton Orient, each working in different spheres.

We can’t do what the Supporters Club does, and there’s no need for us to try when they do it so well, but similarly we can do things that they simply can’t do. For example, during the crisis in 2017, the Supporters Club felt it was unable to speak out because of its position and to protect its facilities; that didn’t mean they didn’t support what we were doing – quite the opposite in fact – but it highlighted the two organisations’ distinct roles and objectives.

We have a friendly and co-operative relationship with the Supporters Club, and have regularly worked together on subjects like the club’s Fans’ Forums. We always try to appoint one of our external directors from the Supporters Club committee – currently Linda Broughan fulfils that role – so we have that formal connection too.

What about the other official supporters’ groups?

We’re more than happy to be a friend to all the supporters’ groups at Leyton Orient, we’ve welcomed each of them as they’ve formed and are always happy to discuss matters of mutual importance. RainbOs, MeshuganOs, the Punjabi O’s and more – all have a part in the rich tapestry of supporters that make up this great football club.

How can I become a member of LOFT?

Joining LOFT is simple! Visit our membership page and follow the instructions to sign up online.