A SAVIOUR FORN THE STEELMEN
Barbados-based Hutchison reveals how chance and his Motherwell roots led him to come to the aid of the Fir Park club
I would not say I was a Motherwell Football Club fan but I am a fan of the Motherwell people
WITH the obvious exception of Hearts, all loved up with their very own fairy godmother, it is fair to suggest that fans of most moderately ambitious clubs in Scotland will be looking at Motherwell with more than a tinge of envy these days.
Nothing to do with their unenviable position at the wrong end of the Premiership table, obviously. But entirely connected to the act of serendipity that put them in touch with a Caribbean-based businessman promising to lead them to financial salvation, fan ownership and long-term stability.
A Motherwell-born magnate with apparently vast wealth sailing to the rescue of a loss-making club? If that sounds like a horror flashback for some Rangers supporters, it is entirely welcomed by Fir Park regulars who can hardly believe their luck.
In an interview published on the Well Society website yesterday, Les Hutchison — who has signed a memorandum of understanding with the f ans’ group, providing an interest-free loan leading to an eventual takeover by supporters — revealed how a chance sighting of an article about the club had first piqued his interest.
And the retired engineering entrepreneur, currently hosting Motherwell general manager Alan Burrows at his Barbados home as he works up a business plan for the company, freely admits that he never intended to get quite so involved in the rescue of a club he had never previously supported.
‘The journey began many months s ago when I read a report, I think it was on n the BBC website, suggesting what the Well ell Society was trying to do and that it was not raising funds quickly enough,’ he explained. ed.
‘At that moment in time, I thoughtght I would simply gift some money to the society. I thought maybe I could get some season tickets for my daughter and my three grandsons.
‘At that point, it was purely part rt of my general philanthropic activity, ity, which is fairly widespread. I do various things in Scotland, mainlyly to do with younger people. That t was my intention — just to give e back.
‘ Why Motherwell? Well, my wedding reception was in the old Royal Hotel in Motherwell; my late first wife and her family come from Motherwell; I lived in Motherwell f or many years; ; I bought my f i rst house inn Motherwell; my daughter went to o primary school in Motherwell; I worked early on as a youngng engineer with British Steel at Clydesdale in Bellshill, whichh is just across the bridge. I workedd for Motherwell Bridge f or s everal veral years and I also worked for Anderson derson Strathclyde, which is about halff a mile from where the club is based.
‘As a result of that, my daughter er particularly always wants to know ow how Motherwell are getting on. She he is very keen to get involved in trying ng to help. She is like that because of her grandfather, who came fromm Motherwell. So I have a major affinity with the Motherwell area.
‘I would not say I was a Motherwell Football Club fan but I am a fan of the Motherwell people and the area because of my links. That’s how it began. That’s why I’m trying to help.’
Gradually drawn into offering more time, expertise and — above all — money to the cause, Hutchison eventually decided to take the lead. Yet the man who made his fortune in North America still insists that the overall plan only works if others rally round his initial effort.
‘The clear message which has to go to the fans, to sponsors and to everybody is that the club and this project will not — not may not — succeed without their active involvement,’ he said.
‘No longer can they look to someone else and a big white charger comingi across theth hillshill tot save them all. I think it has been proven across Scottish football that that is no longer the case.
‘If we can have lots of people involved in a small way, we can achieve the objectives we are talking about. Nobody has to spend a fortune.
‘I think we also need to tap into the global network of people who may have some interest in Motherwell. I think the view is very parochial and we have to take a much more global
view of lookin looking for help an and looking for peopl people who want to getge involved. That will alsoals be a key aspect of what w we d do goingi f forward.d
‘The first thing is we have 30 days (during which any takeover deal will be clarified before anything is legally finalised) and that is an exclusive period where people can’t be talking to anybody else. In that 30 days, we have specific tasks to do. I have lawyers and accountants who will be undertaking some legal due diligence on the football club.
‘As we collect the information, I have invited Alan to Barbados. That is to get a handle on how the club is run from an organisational point of view; the structure of current revenue streams available; what the current cost base is and so on. So the objective over the next month or so is to take all of this information and to develop a business plan.
‘With regards to the board, I want to make it clear from the beginning that this is a fan-led concept. To that extent, whoever is the chairman of the Well Society will also be the chairman of the football club.
‘I have asked (directors) Jim (McMahon) and Derek (Weir) to stay on, which they have agreed to do, and I will be adding some people, again unpaid, with a view to adding some resources who can help get things done and see if we can execute the plan that we will develop.’
Hutchison has already warned fans to f orget about some f antasy ‘war chest’ being provided for new manager Ian Baraclough in January. A club consistently losing money, despite on-field success, cannot afford to spend more than it earns.
Explaining his vision, he said: ‘The first objective is for the club to be sustainable financially. That is what the club needs to do.
‘Now that it’s more of a philanthropic, community-based entity, I’m hoping that will encourage local business to get involved. The early days are about how much support we can get over the coming months and years.
‘Depending on the scale of that, and the budget available to put players on the pitch, it is our sincere hope that we stay in the Premier League.
‘An ideal outcome would be that we have found a sustainable financial
model, very community-focused, and that Motherwell Football Club is still in the Premier League. If we achieve all that, and the club is in the hands of the fans, that for me would be a successful outcome.
‘Obviously I live thousands of miles away but, over the past 25 years, the thing that has continually astounded me is the resilience of the Motherwell people and area.
‘I worked with British Steel, Motherwell Bridge, Anderson Strathclyde. Sadly, some of those are almost gone or are significantly reduced. Yet the people are still there, the f ootball club is still there.
‘Historically, when people talked of Motherwell, they talked of Ravenscraig, the steelworkers and Motherwell Bridge, which was the No 1 crude oil tank manufacturing company in the world. Anderson Strathclyde was the No 1 manufacturer of longwall mining equipment. There were lots of things to talk about. ‘The only reason Motherwell gets in the news now is because of the football club. It’s very important for the people of Motherwell to realise that, if the town and area is to begin to turn around and thrive, they have to have some vehicle t o demonstrate that tremendous character the Motherwell people have.
‘I think the football club can be that vehicle to keep Motherwell on the map.’