ANTHONY McMULLEN has revealed how he wanted to turn Livngston into a "cash cow" by converting two of the club's stands into retail and residential use.
McMullen reckoned he knew the right way to redevelop Almondvale and make millions of pounds for himself and the club in the process. But his plans collapsed last week after the Livingston board pulled the plug on the proposed deal to sell 50 p
er cent of the shares to the Dublin investor.
McMullen said he was ready to invest £2million over two years, but that he expected to make £15m in five years by utilising the club's property assets, an eight-acre site around Almondvale. He said his plan involved knocking down two of the ground's four stands and redeveloping them into a mix of apartments, corporate boxes and retail units. The SPL's regulations only require a 6000 capacity which would be retained even after demolishing two stands. The plan, he said, would be "an absolute cash cow".
However, the Lions pulled the plug on the deal when McMullen, who at 26 is one of Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs, failed to come up with the first installment on the cash, said to be around £150,000.
But McMullen claims the deal collapsed because Roddy Collins, whom McMullen wanted as Livingston's director of football, decided not to take up the role. McMullen told the Sunday Business Post in Ireland that his business plan had been based on Collins being in situ. Without Collins on board, he said, it was simply not "financially sensible" to bankroll the club from his personal funds.
McMullen now intends to return to his home in Jamaica and continue in business. "I am having a ball. I was on a beach in Jamaica last week. I might have drunk 40 bottles of champagne over the past week celebrating. Yes, I look after myself, but I look after my family."
Meanwhile, former Livingston striker Steven Craig, who was released by the club, has signed a two-year-deal with Second Division champions Ross County.
The club's reserves were defeated in the final of the Reserve League Cup 4-1 by Clyde at Almondvale.
The full article contains 368 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
