Aberdeen are the latest Scottish club to defy Armageddon with the club announcing that they are in the process of becoming debt free.
Earlier this season Derek McInnes side won the League Cup by beating Inverness Caley Thistle with 40,000 inside Celtic Park for the match and double that number lining the streets to salute the team as they took an open top bus tour of the city centre.
The announcement from Pittodrie follows on similar developments at Dundee United and Kilmarnock with clubs finally getting the chance to breathe again after the Bank of Scotland debt funded plans around the turn of the century.
Scottish football clubs were hardly helped with claims of Armageddon from SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster who incredibly was given the same post by the SPFL.
Doncaster’s prediction of Armageddon led to speculation that half a dozen or more clubs would follow Rangers into liquidation but through the backing of supporters and desire in the boardroom even clubs such as Hearts and Dunfermline have avoided the shame, humiliation and finality of liquidation.
Among the many puzzling statements from Doncaster he once suggested that liquidation was simply a means of shedding debt, much like a CVA, which partly explains why the SPFL have been unable to attract a sponsor.
Announcing the £14.49m investment of Willie and Elaine Donald to the club Dons chief Stewart Milne said: “The negotiations have been ongoing for a number of months now and these arrangements will I believe be transformational for the club. We are indebted to Willie and Elaine for the role they have played.
“If the final steps are approved at the AGM, we will have a strong balance sheet and the debt-servicing burden will be removed allowing us to drive forward on training facilities and the plans for the new stadium with much greater confidence in our ability to raise the additional investment needed.”
Willie Donald added: “Our family recognises that we have been fortunate to have grown our business in a city and region that has benefited from the impact of the energy sector over the last 37 years. We decided some time ago that we wished to give something back to the community.
“We see the football club as a vital and central part of the community, and indeed the whole North East of Scotland and see this investment as an excellent opportunity to deliver our objective.”
The investment plan is expected to be completed at the club AGM on December 15.
