St Johnstone up for sale after Steve Brown stands down as chairman and father could return
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Geoff Brown is selling his controlling interest in St Johnstone but will return as chairman if the Scottish Premiership club has no buyer by June.
Son Steve Brown on Thursday announced he would be standing down at the end of May after 11 years in the chair.
The two statements come ahead of Friday's annual meeting.
Geoff Brown says, external "the net proceeds from the sale of my shareholding will be put towards building a community hub for the St Johnstone Community Trust".
Brown, who took control in 1986 and had preceded his son as chairman, stressed that this would ensure the sale would be "for the benefit of the football club and the local community".
"As those that know me well will attest to, my ownership of St Johnstone Football Club has never been about the money," said the 79-year-old who founded homebuilding company G. S. Brown Construction.
"It has been a labour of love that, at the heart of it, has been an ongoing mission to ensure the stability and financial viability of the football club whilst always striving to achieve success on the park."
St Johnstone moved to their current McDiarmid Park stadium during Geoff Brown's time as chairman and had their greatest season - winning both domestic cup competitions - in 2021 under his son.
"I would like to place on record my thanks to Steve for his tireless efforts during his chairmanship of the club, within which time we have enjoyed unparalleled success, including winning three major trophies, and playing in European competition on countless occasions," he said.
As his father looks to leave a lasting legacy for his family at the club, his son explained that standing down had "been on my mind for some time".
"But, when Covid-19 struck in March 2020, there was no way I could have stepped down then," he told St Johnstone's website., external
"I had to stay because I had a responsibility to the football club and to stand by it. It was an extremely challenging period and we needed sustained stability."
Brown will not remain on the board as a director after standing down as chairman in May, when vice-chairman Charlie Fraser will also be relinquishing his role after eight years in post.