Fan-Owned Motherwell Grew Income by a Fifth and Spent All of It on Wages

In the 2024-25 season covered by these accounts, which run to May 2025, Motherwell finished eighth. Stuart Kettlewell left in February 2025 and Michael Wimmer took over. The club is majority-owned by the Well Society, its supporters' group of close to 4,000 members, which reached £1m in investment in the club that spring, mostly in the form of a loan.

Turnover rose by around 21% to around £7m, up from around £6m. That is a solid rise for a club without European football that season, though it still leaves Motherwell in the bottom half of the league by income, behind Kilmarnock and St Mirren and a long way behind the Edinburgh clubs and Aberdeen.

Staff costs rose by around 23% to around £6m, around 78% of turnover. That is a high ratio for any club, and a demanding one for a fan-owned club with no wealthy owner to cover shortfalls. Every extra pound spent on the squad has to be earned first or borrowed from the members.

Even so, the pre-tax loss stayed small at around £0.5m, slightly narrower than the year before. Net assets stood at around £5m and cash at around £0.5m, and the club employed 231 people. Motherwell's model depends on living within its means, and these accounts show it doing that, just.