GREENOCK MORTON will be a fan owned club by next summer after supporters’ group Morton Club Together (MCT) announced an agreement has been struck with current owners Golden Casket.
MCT have agreed to take over a majority shareholding in the Championship side for a “nominal sum”, while Golden Casket will write off the club’s debt and retain ownership of Cappielow, renting it to Morton for a “nominal fee”.
By the time the 2021/22 season kicks off, MCT will own 90% of the Greenock outfit – with representatives from the fans’ group “working closely” with the existing board and club personnel to ensure a smooth transition.
Graham McLennan, founder and director of MCT, said: “Our goal has been clear from the outset – we want to move Morton forward.
“We want a better team on the pitch. We want a better match day experience for everyone attending Cappielow. We want to listen to the fans and to communicate effectively with all fans, stakeholders, and partners.
“We are all Morton supporters; we all want what is best for the club and now is our chance to be that best for the club through community ownership.
“In April 2019, MCT was just an idea. Now, with 440 members, we have achieved so much and have an exciting future ahead of us. We would like to thank every single one of our members who has supported us so far.
“As we have always said, we encourage Morton fans from everywhere to join us on this journey, and we hope this announcement will encourage many more to come on board.”
Morton chairman Crawford Rae, who heads up Golden Casket, revealed that a third party had registered their interest in launching a takeover but despite that deal being “much more financially beneficial” according to MCT to Rae and his company, he felt that the supporters would run the club with its best interests at heart.
He said: “The Rae family’s final act of devotion to the club is to hand it over to the fans, marking their last involvement in the financial responsibility and stewardship at GMFC.”
MCT director Gordon Ritchie added: “The faith that Golden Casket and the Rae family have shown in all of us cannot be underestimated and we thank them for that.
“Twenty years ago the Rae family saved the club, and now their legacy will be a club at the heart of Inverclyde, owned by the people who love it most, the fans.”
In a statement, MCT confirmed that the deal is conditional on both parties – MCT and Golden Casket – that in March 2021 the fans’ group “are in a financial position to run the club in a viable manner”.
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