Thursday 23rd October 2025
2026 Membership Subscription Rates
Dear Member
I am writing to inform you of the change to membership subscriptions for 2026, as per Club Rule 21.7.
The Royal Solent’s finances are sound and stable, although we remain cautious with inflation currently at 3.8%. Subscriptions increased by 3.5% in 2025. However, our Club is not immune to the continued pressures of inflation on our utilities and other expenditure. It is also not yet known whether the 40% discount on our Business Rates will continue after March 2026, if at all, so we need to plan for a worse case scenario as it is a significant cost to the Club.
At the time of writing, we are ahead of budget after a very successful Summer both on and off the water, but with historically loss-making months now to come, we must continue to be prudent to end the year at break even. Please do come and enjoy the variety of events planned for the rest of the year.
The General Committee has agreed that we should propose a modest increase of 3.5% in subscription rates next year. For most members the increased subscription cost for 2026 will be between £10 and £15.
With the South Sheds project complete and the dayboats inside, on time and mostly to budget, the Club does not have any large projects on the immediate horizon, which is good news. We do however need to maintain our three club boats and our summer moorings, both of which increase in cost year on year. We are a yacht club, let us not forget, so we must maintain them to support racing for our members and for the annual regattas we run. While there is always an annual maintenance plan for the club boats, we do have to also consider the future of the committee boat, Countdown and our mark layer, Marksman.
Finally, and by no means least, we are fortunate to have good staff, and members will know of the ongoing pressures on staff recruitment and retention in the hospitality sector. We need to recruit new staff and must offer competitive salaries to retain them. Our costs in this area have also risen dramatically with the increases in minimum wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions.
The new subscription rates will help alleviate some of the increased costs we face, and I hope that members will understand the necessity to make this modest increase for 2026.
Please note that 2026 subscription invoices will follow in November, with payment due by 31st December.
Yours sincerely
Robert Quain
Hon. Treasurer
