Fan owned Motherwell FC made a £1.72 million pound profit for the last financial year. Two great cup runs and a couple of favourable transfers have put the club in a comfortable financial position.
The details have been released to shareholders ahead of the 113th AGM that will take place on 17 December. They make happy reading.
Record turnover (£6.84m) and record profits ((£1.72m) flowed from the team's great performance. Gate receipts doubled, broadcasting income was up by £500k and gains from the transfers of Ben Heneghan and Louis Moult added another £1m.
Les Hutchison wrote off £200k of his debt thanks to the Double Your Money scheme and the club repaid amount to him and John Boyle thereby reducing the amount owed from £1.7m to £1.1m.
The wage bill was inflated from £2.8m to £3.5m due to to player bonuses and increased staffing to meet the requirements of Project Brave.
The increased revenue has been put to good use in the stadium. The pitch continues to be among the best in the country, the John Hunter roof has been replaced, the new scoreboard has arrived and the function suites have had a facelift. The new ticketing system is now operational as is the revamped website.
Although the welcome news in the accounts place us in a healthy state the risks to future welfare remain. The club must retain top flight status and continue with its policy of developing and selling talent. The Well Society has now invested in excess of £600k to help with running costs and last year's contribution was £120k.
This is a fan owned club and our contributions play a vital part in ensuring its future well-being.