How much to buy St Johnstone?


Shibbydoo
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It depends on the context. If you mean how much is it worth in terms of the status quo - a professional football club continuing to exist at broadly the same level, using the land as a football stadium for the foreseeable, it would be worth very little. It’s not a money-making business - quite the opposite. There’s a lot of risks and liabilities, and zero chance of healthy dividends from football or hospitality operations. Don’t be fooled by the money in the bank - that will eventually be needed for stadium upkeep and/or the costs of relegation. The only possible buyer in this context would be a rich guy looking for a hobby. It’s quite possible it could go for a symbolic amount, of a pound or whatever, plus any debts paid of course.

If Saints ceased to exist for whatever reason, or wanted to build a new stadium elsewhere, the context changes dramatically. The stadium and its environs then becomes a parcel of prime development land, and if appropriate planning permission could be secured, would be worth several million I would think. If it was in the context of a move, that money would simply fund the new stadium - that’s how McD came about if you recall - so for the Browns to really cash in, the club would have to disappear altogether.

The risk for us as fans is that, when the Browns do move it on, it is snapped-up by either an idiot, or an asset-stripper. The net result would be the same, St Johnstone 2022 or whatever playing in the Lowland League, using some tiny junior ground. That wouldn’t be fun.

In short, you could probably buy Saints for pennies. The bills would then start arriving on your desk....... 

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No sane businessperson would buy a football club, unless it was as Saints were when Brown took them over.
Shows the level of commitment and prudence that has gone into the club over the years. Anyone angling for new owners, no matter what.... get yer coat :)

To buy Saints now would take someone who could underwrite losses each year. A new owner would undoubtedly lose money. 

I know a semi-pro club in London (Nat League South), the wage bill is £7K per week (a little more tbh, but it fluctuates, that's not a guess, that's reliable).....that is semi pro, and that money has to be found weekly, without fail....that's for 18 players/managers, not counting anything else....on the back of 150 season tickets sold, and av. gates 400. East Fife standard but with crazy wage bill.

So to run Saints you'd need a few quid, to buy Saints....

1. Value of McD - from development potential (how much were they trying to get for the north stand?)
2. Turnover x 4 = a typical price of a business
3. Assets (all that Cup money that went into infrastructure!)
4. How many of these they have https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173215199535

Edited by MySpazz
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9 hours ago, Shibbydoo said:

If I had a big wad of cash, which I don't unfortunately, how much of it would it take to buy St Johnstone? 

The business, stadium, team, etc etc. 

Just curious how much its actually worth as a business. 

Its not lack of money that precludes you buying Saints.    It's being ginger. :laugh:

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1 hour ago, MySpazz said:

So to run Saints you'd need a few quid, to buy Saints....

1. Value of McD - from development potential (how much were they trying to get for the north stand?)
2. Turnover x 4 = a typical price of a business
3. Assets (all that Cup money that went into infrastructure!)
4. How many of these they have https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173215199535

I don't think you would be anywhere near that - I'm also under the impression that if someone came in and paid Geoff what he has put into the club that he would bite your hand off

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1 hour ago, TheMarkChristie said:

I don't think you would be anywhere near that - I'm also under the impression that if someone came in and paid Geoff what he has put into the club that he would bite your hand off

Agree. I think anyone who would give the Browns a reasonable ‘out’ they would take it. But, I think the club wouldn’t be passed onto someone who had a genuine interest.

On the value of the club, I would imagine the new road and the expansion it brings will have massively increased the value of the land. Would be interesting to see if saints would take the opportunity to sell up and move to a new site if the money was there?

I think Scottish football is massively undervalue as a whole at the moment. There is money to be made, but only if the game could be run properly. 

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3 hours ago, Lang Toon Saintee said:

Why would someone new need to "Underwrite losses each year" when the current owner does not 

Because if you don't have an owner with outside wealth they will sell of bits of the club, to keep the thing afloat in any times of need. With the Brown's there is 30 years of know-how, local goodwill and investment. A change would - unless I've missed who locally has the money/football connections - would be an outsider.

The Brown's have means to underwrite Saints if needed. Thankfully they have not needed to.....

I maintain that any new owner (god forbid) would run at a loss.

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1 hour ago, ScottMann said:

How much is that?

Now you're talking.............for all the good, never forget the Brown family, including all those wee rubs that are the spawn, inherit the club that the town of perth funded over the years, including the tax money that goes to things like community / FFIT etc, council money etc.

YOU Paid for the club. The browns have run it very well ............but it's not a charity it's a PLC, they own it...

But this is off topic, HOW MUCH IS ST JOHNSTONE WORTH?

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9 hours ago, mainstand said:

I think it would depend very much on the buyer. If Geoff thought that the club would be taken forward by someone then I doubt h would  be looking to make a killing.

I suppose the big question is how much did Geoff invest in the club?

If you get time Companies house has all the accounts back to 1986

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Guest ScottMann
18 hours ago, TheMarkChristie said:

(Remember any transfer he personally funded Dodds/Wright) he took the money back out the club when they where sold on

He funded Dodds then was repaid for the loan he gave the club.  What was the Wright transfer?

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