Gordon Scott declares a 'new dawn' for St Mirren after completing takeover

New St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott has declared the Paisley outfit are on the brink of a fresh dawn after completing a £1million takeover.

The property developer has been installed as the Buddies' new figurehead after joining forces with the St Mirren Independent Supporters Association to buy out a consortium led by outgoing chairman Stewart Gilmour.

Using a scheme similar to the Foundation of Hearts model, Scott eventually plans to hand control to the club's fans within 10 years.

But for now he has promised stability and the chance to grow for manager Alex Rae and his players as they look to win promotion out of the Championship.

He told Press Association Sport: "Hopefully this is the start of a new dawn for St Mirren and we can start moving forward again.

"We want to build a future that involves the fans and everybody in Paisley. Together we can take the club forward and make it successful again.

"We want to take the club back to the Premiership and to give a bit of stability to everybody who works there.

"There will not be massive changes overnight. We're going to go in there, see what we can do and make any alterations that are needed slowly over time.

"I'm going into the stadium (on Friday) to meet general manager Tony Fitzpatrick at 9am and then speak to the rest of the staff. We want to reassure them we will run the club as it has been done before, in a prudent manner.

"We want to hear what everyone has to say so we can take the club forward together."

More than 1,300 Saints supporters have backed the scheme and their monthly subscriptions will be used to buy out Scott - who put up the bulk of the cash to purchase the consortium's 68 per cent stake - allowing the fans to eventually take control.

For now, Scott will be joined on a new-look board by Fitzpatrick, financial advisor Alan Wardrop and SMISA representative David Nicol, with current club secretary Chris Stewart retaining his place.

SMISA convenor George Adam MSP added: "The last year has seen a huge amount of work from Gordon and those of us on the trust board to get things this far - and we are delighted and proud to finally get the deal over the line.

"I want to pay tribute to the outgoing board, who have done an incredible job over the years and can be proud of their legacy - having turned a debt-ridden and struggling club into one with a modern stadium, purpose-built training ground and cash in the bank.

"They always said they would only sell to the right people, and there could be no better owners than a combination of Gordon - a successful businessman with experience of running the club - and the fans.

"But the most important people to thank are the supporters who made this happen - more than 1,300 and counting have signed up in a phenomenal show of support for what we are doing here. Together we can make the future of our club whatever we want it to be."

Gilmour was in charge of the Paisley outfit for almost 20 years and oversaw the move from the club's former Love Street home to the new Paisley 2020 Stadium.

He and his fellow shareholders first put the club up for sale in 2009 and Gilmour is glad to see it end up in the right hands.

In a tweet he offered the new owners his best wishes, saying: "Wish Gordon and SMISA every success, keep up the good work as trusted custodians of our club."