St Mirren today took a giant step towards a fan-owned future after a takeover deal for former club director Gordon Scott to take the reigns in partnership with the Saints supporters’ trust was finalised.

The joint purchase of the majority shareholding in the club by Gordon and the St Mirren Independent Supporters Association (SMISA) will see the construction boss become the new chairman, with the fans group getting a seat on the board.

The trust has a ten-year option to buy the shares being bought by Gordon at the price he pays now – meaning a majority fan-owned club at some point in the future.

The trigger for the deal came last month when SMISA smashed through their fundraising target of 1,000 members paying at least £12 per month – with numbers having since risen to 1,300.

Five of the current six-man board – including long-serving chairman Stewart Gilmour – will now step down after nearly twenty years at the helm.

Joining Gordon’s new-look boardroom will be current club chief exec Tony Fitzpatrick, financial advisor Alan Wardrop, and SMISA representative David Nicol, while current club secretary Chris Stewart will stay on.

Gordon is paying the bulk of the near-£1m purchase price for the 68% stake in the club – counting existing shareholdings he will now hold a 50.1% stake, while SMISA will control around 29%.

SMISA will pay their £380k share of the buyout in instalments initially, while continuing to fundraise over the years ahead to raise the cash to buy out Gordon.

The trust plans to mark the takeover with a fan party to be held after their league opener against local rivals Morton on Saturday 6 July – with more details to be announced soon.

Former club director Gordon – who project managed the construction of the Paisley 2021 Stadium during his previous stint on the board – said: “Today can be remembered as a landmark moment in the long and proud 139-year existence of our club – this was the day where the fans gained the chance to ultimately be the ones who control St Mirren’s destiny.

“For me personally it is a life-defining honour to become the chairman of the club I have supported since I was a boy.

“We are taking over at an exciting time as we kick off a new season with the club in decent shape on and off the field – but we want to build on that in the years ahead.

“My aim is to work with SMISA to give the fans a greater degree of involvement in the running of the club than has ever been the case before – then eventually hand over a healthy and successful St Mirren for them to safeguard forever.”

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 it feels great 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.

“And any fans yet to do so can still sign up now at smisa.net – the more fans we have the stronger the trust and by extension the club will be. Together we can make the future of our club whatever we want it to be.”