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Smisa Statement On Fan Ownership / Gordon Scott


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After the much publicised share buying last Autumn do we know hown many shares the members of the consortium own?

I'm presuming GLS wishes to keep his shares in the proposed set up but what about Ken McGeouch?

GLS will obviously keep his shares until we are in a position to buy them back from him, can't comment on Kens shares as he is his own man. The consortium like ourselves were actively buying shares, the accounts filed up to 2014 show that Douglas street ltd hold 51.25% of shares (97,637 shares) these figures will have increased both for the consortium and SMiSA, We will not know the actual amount until we have a successful bid or when the 2015 figures are published.
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This is a truly encouraging development, and hopefully all fans who are in a position to get behind this do so. I will be talking to my bank to see what my options are re a direct debit taking into account the ever changing exchange rate, and lets hope that any discussions on process on this forum can proceed without rancour and recrimination.

Just send me the money and I'll forward it on...what could go wrong?

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Very excited by this development. Finally, there just might be a positive outcome involving genuine St Mirren fans picking up the baton. I am undoubtedly in, and delighted that SMiSA and Gordon have pulled this together.

Early days, certainly, but much to be hopeful about!

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Apologies for being naïve in this matter however reading it as a novice, I can only see that this would leave us with 2 members on the BOD, (Gordon Scott ) and an elected member from SMiSA, so my question is surely their would be more members of the BOD,s and who would have control over the day to day running of the club.

quite clear in the statement that GLS would be the chairman, and he is putting up the bulk of the upfront cash in the offer. Seems clear to me that he will have day to day stewardship

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quite clear in the statement that GLS would be the chairman, and he is putting up the bulk of the upfront cash in the offer. Seems clear to me that he will have day to day stewardship

Yes, for probably the next decade Chris , allowing a settled environment within the club , before a smooth transition to full fan ownership !

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Yes, for probably the next decade Chris , allowing a settled environment within the club , before a smooth transition to full fan ownership !

Best deal we are ever likely to get, a known and trusted fan who actually knows how to run a business well

If this goes through I can stop spending so much on euromillions tickets

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Very excited by this development. Finally, there just might be a positive outcome involving genuine St Mirren fans picking up the baton. I am undoubtedly in, and delighted that SMiSA and Gordon have pulled this together.

Early days, certainly, but much to be hopeful about!

This. I think you speak for the vast majority of us Drew.
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This was my first thought too. Hopefully any ill feeling can be set aside for the good of the club and the fans. Would be great to be part of this going forward.

If the offer matches the selling consortiums asking price then I can't see how / why they could refuse this as it's not as if this is some unknown or foreign investment that would need thorough scrutiny. If the new offer is full asking price (whatever that is now ?) then surely they have to sell or it looks like it's all a sham on their part.

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Its very good news. I am delighted that despite last seasons backward step, it clearly showed that change is so needed. No Argies, dodgy English consortiums'. But a known Saints fan who simply wants what we all want. Control of our destiny.

Saints are for life thumbup2.gif

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As touched on in previous posts I think the essence of this deal ticks any remaining boxes of doubt about fan ownership.

Firstly by there would be no debt on either the supporters or the football club. Gordon would obviously be putting in the vast majority of the initial money and taking on the ownership of the club but the risk to him would be fairly minimal I would think given that he would be the "owner" of the majority shareholding so would have a tangible asset for his investment.

I'd think as part of any future sell on to SMiSA that Gordon would also sell his own shareholding which at the moment has little tangible value so there is an inventive there for him too. I'd hope SMiSA could eventually in the fullness of time offer to buy any shareholding from any existing shareholder who wished to sell thus keeping everyone happy (appreciate that not every shareholder will want to sell).

Secondly the risks of fan ownership have always been about the fans not appreciating how difficult it is to run a football club. This model gives a fairly smooth transition towards that with Gordon already having the experience of doing exactly that. With the best will in the world SMiSA are going to be at least 3-5 years away from generating the sort of cash needed to buy the shareholding back from Gordon - this gives ample time for a full understanding of the day to day running of the club to be passed on.

Thirdly there is no risk to the selling consortium. They get their money up front, and they pass control of the club to the fans. They could leave without a worry that the new owners would have anything but the best intentions for the club. That has always been the stated aim of the sellers.

The elephant in the room is going to be the price.

3 years ago the selling consortium knocked back the 10000Hours bid of £1.25m, but this was not on grounds of the figure itself as far as I understand it. The deal was rejected on grounds of sustainability concerns.

Three years on and still without a buyer and with the club having slipped down a division what price would be a fair and reasonable price ??

I don't know the answer to that, but hoping that both parties can work something out that is fair for both so everyone can move on to the next chapter.

Exciting times, I'm already a SMiSA member and hope a few more buds will sign up to the association to lend their support.

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Nicely put, Div.

Funnily enough, I had made the decision earlier today to sign up for SMiSA. They need our tangible backing just now.

On the price issue, I think this shouldn't be a major stumbling block. Gordon is a shrewd enough operator not to come back in (having had at least two personal offers and the 10000Hours bid fail) were he not fairly confident that this was a realistic and viable initiative from his perspective.

As you say, this scheme could pretty much cover all the bases, and if it comes to fruition, I will tell you right now that I will cry like a big wean. This is potentially what the vast majority of Saints fans have been waiting and hoping for.

I am in a particularly benign frame of mind today. There are a few reasons for this, but the news that broke last night is the major one. Please let it be!

Edited by Drew
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The aim is to buy the consortiums shares - approximately 52% this would give us the majority that the consortium have now, other major shareholders can of course be board members and their experience and input is vital, this plan aims to be an inclusive one which is not about one group it is for all Saints fans and those who want to see Saints safeguarded as their club, if successful the club will remain in the hands of us - the fans, and would never be open to speculation from business groups who could use it for their own agenda - then drop it like a stone when they had taken what they wanted. We want to take majority control now, and not in the future when some group have left us in the lurch. The club is not in crisis at the moment and this plan can ensure wee never are.

Thank you for your explanation buddiecat

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The elephant in the room is going to be the price.

Would it not be more appropriate in this case to refer to such things as the large hippo in the room? shutup.gif

Very exciting news. Clearly this is in the very early stages and there are lots of hurdles to overcome, however the fact Hearts and Motherwell - the latter a club who weren't in particular financial difficulty yet still managed to draw members - have managed to do similar in the last few years show it can be done and is feasible. Not being the first to go down this route will bring with it various benefits and also a lot of knowledge I'd imagine we'd be able to draw on.

Looking forward to hearing more about this. I know someone has already asked about board members but how is it going to work to start with? Gordon will be chairman and majority shareholder so does he appoint everyone bar the SMiSA representative? Will the payments be structured in a way to cope with people cancelling their direct debits in a huff because of a crap season or other club's signs going up?

How many members are needed to make this work? Hopefully folk aren't put off after signing up last time only to see it come to nothing.

Of course, Gordon Scott's involvement comes with the added bonus of some more potential meltdowns from everyone's new favourite poster.

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Absolutely brilliant news, I have been slow in rejoining SMSA however will rejoin before the end of next week. Question when it comes to fan ownership subscription if financial circumstances change I take it you can drop out ?

I think you will always have the option of dropping out mate. It's not just the club that can change, people's circumstances change as well.

I guess Gordon will have an expectation of when he will be able to recoup his outlay right enough, I doubt he's going to pitch in a heavy investment without knowing when he will get it back out.

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Will you be loving it when your wallet is being emptied ? whistling.gif I certainly like what I have read about it so far and hope Gilmour and Co do as well thumbup2.gif

All for a good cause.

If I can get on the Board...

Free admission to all games and a lift on the Team Bus to the Away matches.

And as many sausage rolls...

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