Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Owner agrees to sell St Johnstone to wealthy US lawyer
ST Johnstone owner Geoff Brown is set to sell his controlling stake in the Perth club to a wealthy American lawyer.
It is understood a deal has been agreed with Adam Webb, one of the USA’S most renowned litigators.
Brown owns 75% of St Johnstone and has been involved in negotiations with Webb – based in Atlanta and a partner in the firm Webb, Klase & Lemond – for months.
Webb, a minority owner of Cambridge United for the last few years, was a guest of Saints in February.
He attended matches against Ross County and Hearts.
He liked what he saw and confirmed his intention to buy the club.
Brown has owned Saints for the best part of four decades. He bought the club in 1986 and changed the course of its history with a move from Muirton Park to Mcdiarmid three years later.
He put Saints on the market over a year ago, around the same time as son Steve stood down as chairman.
Financially, the club is in rude health, even taking into account a recent seven-figure annual loss.
Mcdiarmid Park sits on 22 acres of land and there are millions in the bank.
Brown has pledged that the money made from a sale will go to the Saints Community Trust to build a sports hub.
Several other groups and individuals had shown an interest in a takeover over the last year.
Brown is convinced that he has identified the right man to take St Johnstone forward and wasn’t interested in starting a bidding war.
Brown had suggested in an interview in December that the SFA softening their stance on multiclub ownership and dual interests could prove to be a “game-changer” in his efforts to complete a sale.