LIVINGSTON yesterday announced the agreement of a seven-figure investment aimed at returning the club to the SPL within the next three years.
Entrepreneur Anthony McMullen, of Irish developers McMullen Properties, has acquired a 50 per cent stake in the West Lothian outfit after previously courting stricken Gretna and English League Two side Rotherham.
The Irishman, a cousin of former L
iverpool and Republic of Ireland international Ronnie Whelan and himself a former under-16 international, will meet the running costs of up to £700,000 at Almondvale in the next two years in return for shares.
McMullen, who has property interests as far afield as Jamaica and Bulgaria, will also look to plough further money back into the Lions by seeking agreement with the local council to develop the land surrounding the authority-owned ground.
He said: "We are here not just in a development capacity. Yes, McMullen Properties is about development and property and, yes, we intend to make money but we intend to put money back into the football club.
"We want to maintain the football club and not just in the First Division, we want to maintain it in the SPL. We are here to build a football team."
Chairman Pearse Flynn helped rescue Livingston from administration in 2004 but the Irishman has been seeking fresh assistance in a bid to lift the team out of the First Division and back into the top-flight.
He also announced the additional investment of local businessman and supporter Ged Nixon to provide the club with a local face on the board, but he insisted he remained 100 per cent committed to Livingston.
Flynn said: "This is a very, very important day in the short history of Livingston Football Club.
"We have to build revenue sources that can drive the club forward. We don't want to be in the First Division and to go further than that we need to invest and make the best of the assets we have." Flynn also confirmed a 'review' of manager Mark Proctor's position will take place at the end of the season.
The full article contains 356 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
