Chairman Ross McArthur has described Dunfermline’s financial results as ‘pleasing’ after the East End Park outfit posted a £204,132 profit for the year ending May 2021.
The Pars have £830,943 in the bank after registering heartening figures with Companies House.
The Fifers’ accounts are bolstered by a £500,000 government grant and a £50,000 donation from the SPFL Trust, courtesy of philanthropist James Anderson.
Close to £100,000 was attained via the ‘disposal’ of player registrations — meaning outgoing transfers.
As Dunfermline, like other clubs in Scotland, came to terms with the Covid crisis, the number of employees of the business dropped from 88 to 51.
McArthur said: “It is pleasing that the club has again shown a profit for the year.
“The club has generated profits in six of the last seven years.
“A comparison of this year’s financial results with those of previous years is almost meaningless, given the very particular circumstances.
“Given the fact that, at the start of the season, our supporters knew that the likelihood of their being able to attend matches in person was very low, the club’s turnover (which does not include the grants) was 60% of the previous year’s figure.
“A great many of our costs, however, remained much in line with the previous year.
“Indeed, with the Covid restrictions in place in Scottish football, the costs of players and management travelling to training and matches was considerably greater than in the previous year.”
Recent projects
The accounts do not include the sizeable interest free loan provided to the club by German investors DAFC Fussball GmbH, which occurred in December 2021.
That will be repayable in the form of an 80% shareholding of the club within five years, rather than cash.
It was confirmed that the club have secured a 25-year lease on the land of the former Civil Service Sports club in Rosyth, on which the Pars will construct its new training base.
The option for a further decade is present.
However, it is noted that a completion date for the project ‘cannot be definitive’ due to ‘uncertainty caused by the pandemic and Brexit’.
Building for the future
Signing off on his final accounts as Dunfermline chairman, McArthur described the ‘honour’ of leading his boyhood club.
Ross McArthur: Why outgoing Dunfermline chairman deserves to be considered a modern day Pars hero https://t.co/7TQdhbc1HG pic.twitter.com/aIKxI086nv
— The Courier Sport (@thecouriersport) November 4, 2021
McArthur added: “As I announced in November, I will be standing down as chairman and a director of the company at the end of the current season.
“The events that led me to make my decision, were deeply disappointing as it had not been my intention to resign at the current time.
“Despite this, it has been an honour and a privilege to be chairman of a club I have supported since I was 10 years old.
“Like every other Pars fan, my one regret is that we have not been more successful in terms of on the field results, but I sincerely hope that the work that has taken place behind the scenes provides us with a better platform for the future.”
