Falkirk shake up board by bringing in three new directors

Gary Deans, Peter Duncan and Kevin Beattie have been drafted in to support the business through its period of transition with the additional aim of scrutinising new ownership bids.

A club statement said all three were long-time Bairns supporters who would each bring a different dimension to the board.

Gary Deans, born and raised in Falkirk, is a chartered accountant who has worked with private firms for over 30 years. He was a partner with KPMG for 14 years, until 2016, and co-founded business advisory firm Strathblair.

Kevin Beattie, project manager at PetroIneos Refinery in Grangemouth, has been a Falkirk season ticket holder for over 40 years and has coached various FFC community teams, also assisting the club academy as a scout.

He has been active in the Bairn for Life scheme raising funds to support player recruitment.

And Falkirk-born businessman Peter Duncan, who operated in the North Sea oil platform industry until retiring in 2016, is a club season ticket holder and regular sponsor who also wrote and released two Cup Final songs - “We Are The Team” in 1997 and “Here We Go Again” in 2015.

In the statement on behalf of the board, former chairman Martin Ritchie said Gary Deans would bring professional expertise in business development and finance, Peter Duncan would bring experience of running a large successful local company and Kevin Beattie was a fan with experience of the club’s community work.

He continued: “As members of the board, the new directors will have a role to play in deciding the future of the club.

“Two formal bids are under consideration and a Back the Bairns proposal remains on the table.

“The two third party bids have major strengths in terms of people, finance and football connections while a supporters’ initiative would retain the club wholly in local hands.

“If it were simply a matter of accepting the highest bid, decisions would be much simpler; with the long-term future of the club at stake, it would be wrong to make a hasty decision.

“The current board is aware that supporters hold them culpable for relegation to League One.  However, the desire for a complete change of board directors must be balanced by the immediate need to run the business.

“The new directors will bring a fresh outlook and new ideas. They will be involved in reviewing the proposals for the future of the club as well as providing support and guidance on day to day operations. The transition to new ownership will probably take three to four months and in that time much has to be done.”

The statement also said club remained open to interest from others who believe that they could make a contribution to the board.