St Mirren call egm as McGeoch stays put

Published on 03/04/2012 00:00

ST MIRREN have called an extraordinary general meeting for next month after the main ownership consortium failed to force the resignation of director and prospective buyer Ken McGeoch yesterday.

The consortium, which includes chairman Stewart Gilmour, had called for McGeoch’s resignation after he attended a meeting with lawyer Gary Withey, who was company secretary of Rangers, in the St Mirren boardroom to discuss his takeover plans in November last year.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “It is with deep regret that we have not received the resignation of Mr Ken McGeoch and therefore an extraordinary general meeting will be called with papers being sent to shareholders shortly at considerable expense.”

The egm has been scheduled for 3 May at St Mirren Park.

The selling consortium had described Withey’s involvement as a “serious breach of trust and an error of judgment” on the part of McGeoch, who countered that Collyer Bristow, the firm in which Withey was a partner at the time, were established as legal experts on football takeover deals.

The St Mirren board members made fresh claims yesterday that Paul Davies, McGeoch’s partner in his proposed takeover, had arranged to meet Rangers owner Craig Whyte.

The statement read: “Mr McGeoch had a long discussion with club chairman Stewart Gilmour at Saturday’s match and was shown correspondence that had been passed to Mr Gilmour, dated late November 2011 in which Mr Paul Davies confirmed that he was scheduled to meet with Mr Craig Whyte on Mr Whyte’s return from Monaco in early December 2011.”

Davies and McGeoch last night issued a joint statement saying they “categorically deny any association past or present with Craig Whyte.”

McGeoch last week put his shares in the club up for sale and said he would be prepared to walk away. He added in a statement: “As a lifelong fan I’m very disappointed by the sustained campaign to discredit my bid and remove me from the board.”