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CHAIRMAN Alan Young insists the Raith Rovers takeover can only be good for the club as it bids to recover from last season’s calamitous relegation from the Championship.
Ownership of the Kirkcaldy club has changed hands, with businessman and director John Sim, who is Global CEO for accountancy network PKF International, assuming control in a shake-up brought on by the drop down to League One.
A deal has been struck that sees ‘Stark’s Park Properties’ (SSP), the company which owns the stadium and where Sim is the majority shareholder, become the largest stakeholders in the club.
Since the takeover by ‘New Raith Rovers’ in 2005, the two companies have operated separately, but the new structure now gives SSP the controlling interest in the football club.
Financial input from Sim was key to Rovers remaining full-time in the current season as they attempt to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt and the agreement has also cleared some debts accrued last term.
Despite the change of ownership, there are not expected to be any major alterations in the day-to-day running of the club, with directors already redistributing jobs to cope with the recent departure for financial reasons of CEO Eric Drysdale.
And Young is convinced the takeover makes sound sense given the challenges presented by relegation.
He told @CCP_sport: “There’s absolutely no doubt this is the best move for the football club.
“The disaster that befell us was relegation last season, which frankly no-one thought would happen, and it was only with the support of Stark’s Park Properties and John Sim that we were able to stay full-time.
“The takeover allows us to withstand the anticipated losses of staying full-time this season, which is likely to be somewhere in the region of £150,000, and a number of debts from last year have been cleared.
“It gives us financial stability and, by allowing us to stay full-time, gives us the best possible opportunity of being promoted.”
