East Fife may be forced to sell land around their Bayview home to help stave off a serious financial crisis, it has emerged.
The Methil outfit’s accounts for the year ended May 31, 2014, have revealed that losses have more than trebled from what they were 12 months previously, despite the club enjoying lucrative home games against the likes of Rangers and Fife rivals Dunfermline Athletic in last season’s League One campaign.
The club have reported a loss of £142,174, up from £41,030 in the middle of 2013, and Courier Sport has learned that club directors have been helping to keep the club afloat out of their own pockets in recent weeks as the cashflow situation remains precarious.
However, the directors who are in the midst of trying to acquire the majority shareholding from the club’s current owners say they have prepared an action plan to put the club on a more stable financial footing moving forward.
This includes the sale of a substantial amount of land around the club’s ground near Methil Docks, with all but Bayview itself, the car parks and a 30 metre perimeter around the stadium potentially up for grabs.
The club’s accounts, outlined at a closed doors AGM earlier this month, confirmed that 2013/14 proved to be an “extremely challenging” one for the club both on and off the pitch which has now placed “severe cash pressure on the club”.
“There were a number of changes that occurred at board level at the start of the season, namely in the chairman’s role along with various other directors’ appointments and resignations,” the club’s report into finances states.
“The board also made a number of changes to the operational structure of the club in nearly all facets of the club and its day-to-day running.
“Suppliers were changed, staffing levels were increased in administrative and bar positions and there were a number of changes to playing and managerial staff.
“Unfortunately, and despite the hard work of all concerned, these changes did not have the effect that was anticipated.”
It is understood that in addition to the losses reported, the club’s net liabilities exceed its current assets by over £90,000, although Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is not one of the organisations owed cash as tax bills have been kept up-to-date.
The report goes on to suggest that there were a number of reasons for the level of losses not anticipated by the board, namely the fact that the “matchday and administration costs of hosting Dunfermline and Rangers were severely under budgeted”.
It similarly highlighted the fact that playing staff costs were more than budgeted for, and a cut in youth funding from the SFA which “had to be made good from club resources”.
And the report concluded that the level of loss incurred has put “severe cash pressure on the club”.
“The directors are acutely aware of this financial pressure indeed cashflow projections have been prepared encompassing 12 months from the date of this report,” it added.
“An action plan has been prepared which, in the short term, aims to provide a more stable financial footing for the club moving forward.
“This action plan aims to increase club revenues and decrease club overheads where possible.”
The financial report goes on to highlight the fact that directors have provided extra funding by way of personal unsecured loans, although those board members who have contributed have pledged not to take the funds back out of the club within at least the next year or so.
The Fifers have had a turbulent time of things off the pitch since the summer of 2013, when former chairman Sid Collumbine was ousted as part of a takeover which saw local businessman Lee Murray installed as his replacement.
Murray has since also departed the club, with director Jim Stevenson currently acting as interim chairman and spearheading the current board’s efforts to buy a 52% controlling stake.
On the pitch, the club suffered relegation to League Two last season and have been struggling to attract the kind of attendances seen in previous years.