Bairns on brink of new era as takeover talks progress ‘faster’

Falkirk have announced they are ‘confident’ a buy-out of the club will be concluded within the next fortnight.

The Bairns have put on hold plans for a ‘root-and-branch’ review of the running of the club, and the appointment of an interim chairman to lead the probe, after talks over a takeover progressed ‘faster than we had anticipated’.

Discussions with potential investors and on the potential for fan ownership have been under way for some time and a conclusion is now in sight.

In addition to a supporter-led proposal, American stockbroker Mark Campbell has been reported as showing an interest in the majority shareholders’ 62% holding as part of a US-Asian consortium.

Falkirk are keen to secure fresh investment following relegation to League 1, which sparked fan protests over the running of the club and led to chair Margaret Lang relinquishing her post.

In a statement ‘on behalf of the board’, outgoing director and former chairman Martin Ritchie said: “The club is gearing itself up for the most extensive period of change since the 1998 provisional liquidation.

“These changes are not just to address the immediate task of gaining promotion back to the Championship, but to build a club that can be successful and sustainable in the years to come.

“This has progressed faster than we had anticipated and we are now confident that there will be a change of ownership in the near future.

“We have therefore put plans for an interim chairman on hold for now, in the expectation that a prospective buyer of the club would want to decide who the chairman should be, whether interim or permanent.”