ABUSINESSMAN yesterday pulled the plug on his prospective takeover of Ayr United, after failing to agree a price with the club's California-based owner.
Roy Kennedy and Donald Cameron were last night locked in an acrimonious stand-off, with Cameron seeking to belittle former Ayr director Kennedy's financial commitment to the debt-laden Scottish Football League second division outfit.
Kennedy also accused Cameron and the United board of "moving the goalposts" and failing to come up with an alternative plan to revive Ayr's fortunes.
Kennedy, who runs Prestwick firm Kennedy Construction, teamed up with the Honest Men supporters' trust earlier this year under the holding company name of Ayr United (2010).
The prospective new owners had hoped to finance team rebuilding and a refurbished 6000-seat stadium through low-cost housing. Flats would have been built by Kennedy Construction on car parking land at Somerset Park.
Kennedy, 36, met Cameron on Monday. In a statement yesterday, he said the two sides were further apart than ever and alleged the United board had demanded extra funds, inf lating the value of the club "beyond a realistic market level".
United hit the rocks after construction giant Barr Holdings sold its majority 77per cent shareholding to Cameron in 2003, ending Bill Barr's lengthy spell at the helm.
Directors pumped in fresh loans last September to help avoid the necessity of seeking a voluntary debt repayment arrangement with creditors, which could have triggered the club's collapse had agreement not been reached. The club is still understood to owe about [pounds]1m, including [pounds]600,000 to Cameron and a significant sum to the Inland Revenue.
Kennedy said he was "bitterly disappointed" at the failure of the talks. He claimed the deal proposed by Cameron was "not in the spirit" of previous acquisitions, where only [pounds]1 changed hands, with the new owner inheriting the debts.
He added: "We have stood back to allow Donald Cameron and the board and consider our plans and to outline their vision for the future of the club. The silence has been deafening."
His proposals were to buy Cameron's shares for a nominal sum through a community company, with a further 19 people contributing over years to give the club a guaranted income of [pounds]400,000 a year, to be split between United and local charities.
Among other initiatives, some [pounds]750,000 would have been raised by building flats on the existing car park and main stand.
Kennedy said: "We were miles apart and I had no option but to walk away."
Cameron reacted angrily to the claims. He denied picking up his majority stake for [pounds]1, saying the acquisition of the Barr shareholding was a "long and complex agreement" which both sides have honoured.
He said he had personally invested [pounds]600,000 in Ayr United and that he and other directors have pumped in [pounds]330,000 since Barr relinquished control.
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