EXCLUSIVE: St Johnstone owner Geoff Brown reveals ‘fair bit of interest’ in buying Perth club but not being in ‘desperate state’ has proved unusual hindrance

The sale of St Johnstone is not imminent, owner Geoff Brown has confirmed.

But a “fair bit of interest” has emerged over the last three months, since he put his shares in the Perth club on the market.

Whether that translates into the sort of offer that would persuade Brown to hand over the keys to McDiarmid Park remains to be seen.

And, as of yet, no potential buyer has convinced him that they have the necessary wherewithal behind them.

Asked whether Saints are close to being sold, Brown told Courier Sport: “No.

“One way or another there’s a fair bit of interest.

“But as far as it getting serious is concerned we’re not that far down the line unfortunately.

“As it stands we don’t believe the people can come up with the money we’re seeking.

“We’ll just have to wait and see.”

St Johnstone capped an excellent 2021/22 by making a profit of £1.7 million and cash of over £5 million pic.twitter.com/ZsRUZXY48F

— Kieran Maguire (@KieranMaguire) March 1, 2023

Brown explained that the fact Saints aren’t a crisis club may well have worked against them thus far.

And he suggested the challenges encountered by foreign owners along the River Tay at Tannadice could also be giving potential investors pause.

“One of the problems we’ve got is we have a lot of assets,” said Brown, who bought Saints in 1986.

“We’re not in a desperate state.

“People who want to buy tend to want something that is in a state as opposed to something that has been ticking along fairly nicely over a period.

“The other thing is, what’s been happening at Dundee United wasn’t clever for us.

“That tends to put any foreign investor off. You have to deal with that.”

Steve stepping down

Brown could be faced with taking up his old Saints’ chairman role when son, Steve steps aside at the end of May.

Preparing an in-house succession isn’t his immediate focus, though.

“What I would say is we’ll cross that hurdle when we come to it,” he said.

“Right now, things are going along quite well. There will always be a St Johnstone.”

Steve hasn’t changed his mind about wanting to conclude his tenure as chairman in the near future, according to Geoff.

However, he is heavily involved in talks with would-be owners.

“Obviously he is part of the negotiations and that will determine what happens,” said Geoff on the timing of Steve’s exit.