Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson has hailed what he called a “milestone” deal that will see all future transfer income go to the club.
The Tangerines have renegotiated the terms of their agreement with Bank of Scotland that had previously seen the financial institution entitled to a cut of all fees received during the window just closed and the two to follow.
That arrangement, put in place in February as part of the process that saw“hard” bank debt turned into “soft” debt to friendly creditors, saw the bank take a percentage of the big money from the Ryan Gauld and Andrew Robertson transfers to Sporting Lisbon and Hull City respectively.
From now on, though, every penny will go straight into the Tannadice coffers.
Thompson said: “InFebruary of this year we did a deal with the bank that bought out what remained of our debt.However, there were three clauses relating to transfer windows.
“They were to be entitled to a percentage of transfers in this summer’s window, the one next January and also next summer. What I have done over the last few weeks is renegotiated that and, as of today, thatobligation to the bank has gone.
“That means that any player we now sell the full amount will come to the club.The final payment was made today and they are out of things now.
“I would say that is a real milestone in the history of Dundee United.
“It is particularly so when you think we inherited £4 million of debt when we took over the club and we were hemorrahaging money with £2.8 million (annual) losses.
“We still have £2 million worth in loan holders, the guys who helped us buy out the bank.They remain to be paid but with a fair wind behind us we will owe them £1 million or less by this time next year.
“That is the only debt the club has now and these loans are soft and structured.So we are in a postion where we could have very little money owed in a year’s time.”
Thompson’s self-confessed ambition ever since he took over as United chairman following the death of his father Eddie in 2008 has been to make the club debt-free and he is within striking disatnce of that goal now.
“Yes, people want a successful team on the park but the finances have to be right as well,” he said.“My ambition has been to get the club into that position, while at the same time keeping a good, competitive team on the park.
“I think we are doing that.Indeed, I would argue that the squad looks stronger this season than last.
“There is a lot of talent coming through and the one thing about our manager Jackie McNamara is that he will give them a chance.
“Also, we own our stadium and we own Gussie Park.So we have assets other than those on the pitch, which is fantastic.”
The chairman revealed that for the first time since he and his dad walked into the boardroom 12 years ago this month, there will be no pressure on the Thompson family to plug any financial gaps.
“This will be the first season I can remember where we don’t have to worry about peaks and troughs in the cash-flow,” he said.“Often as a family we have had to put money in at certain times of the year and been able to get it back at the end of the season or whenever.
“We don’t have that issue this time and here we are coming up to 12 years since my dad took over.I am pleased to be where we are now.
“This club is in a decent place, although you can never get complacent in football because things can come thundering down around you.
“I am not getting carried away and there is a lot of hard work still to do.We have costs to look at within the business but to be in our situation is pretty unusual in Scottish football I would say.
“We had the dark days in the past when the club was losing so much money that we didn’t know for sure that we would survive the season.My father kept the club alive by putting money in and we have progressed since then.
“To me this is a big message from us to the fans and I would also like to thank them for backing us by buying season tickets in record numbers.”
Thompson was keen to highlight the role played by supporters, who have taken the club’s season ticket tally to an unprecedented 5,600.
“The fact that they are at a record level is great,” he said.“That shows the fans are buying into what we are trying to do here, even after selling a couple of players.”
Meanwhile, Thompson revealed that, during the transfer window, there was one offer for winger Gary Mackay-Steven in mid-July that was deemed to be nowhere near the level required to tempt them to sell.
United will offer him new terms but the likelihood is that he will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, as the player himself has intimated.
Thompson said: “We would love him to stay and now that the transfer window has closed we will try again to get him to extend his contract.
“There is only so much we can do, however.I can understand his position so we will see what happens on that one.”