St Mirren to be fan-owned by 2021 after charity partnership landslide vote
Friday 21 February 2020 15:56, UK
St Mirren will become a fan-owned club from 2021 after fans overwhelmingly backed plans to partner with one of Scotland's largest charities.
Over 91 per cent of members of the St Mirren Independent Supporters Association (SMISA) voted in favour of a deal which will see the fan group take their stake in the club to 51 per cent by the end of 2021.
As part of the deal, Paisley-based charity Kibble will immediately buy a further 27.5% from current owner Gordon Scott, who will continue as club chairman.
It will make St Mirren the first UK league club to be part-owned by and run in partnership with a major charity.
Kibble - who operate across Scotland and provide specialist services to support young people - have been based in Paisley since 1840.
They will provide support services and commercial expertise to help St Mirren grow as a business while creating training and employment opportunities for the young people in their care.
SMISA's near-1,200 members have been voting on the deal over the past fortnight, with members quizzing representatives of SMISA, Kibble and St Mirren at a public meeting earlier this month, with club chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick and manager Jim Goodwin speaking in favour of the deal.
St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott said: "When I took over as chairman four years it was always with the aim of passing the shares to the fans when the time was right.
"That day will arrive much sooner than we initially planned - but I believe this the right model, with the right partner, to build on the good work the current board has already done, and take St Mirren to the next level on and off the park.
"The new expertise Kibble will bring will allow us to find new ways to bring income into the club, and I and others on the board can't wait to get started on working with them to do that."
