John Yorkston
Born
John Wood Yorkston[1]

(1954-07-13) 13 July 1954
Dunfermline, Scotland
OccupationLegal services administrator
Known forChairman of Dunfermline Athletic
Children2

John Wood Yorkston (born 13 July 1954) is a Scottish retired businessman who was previously chairman of football club Dunfermline Athletic.[2]

Career

Business

Yorkston was the managing director of First Scottish Group, a legal services company, however in October 2012, he retired from this position.[3]

He took up a full-time post in the civil service where he gradually moved up the ranks. He then left to start up a company searching public records under the auspices of the First National Bank. First Scottish began life back in 1987 as a subsidiary of First National Bank to undertake Searches on behalf of the Bank. From 1989 onwards, this service was extended to solicitors. In 2000, a management buy-out was negotiated which resulted in the Searching company First Scottish Searching Services. He was also a director of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce from 2012 to 2014.[1]

Football

Yorkston was prominent in footballing circles for over 20 years; he was appointed chairman of Dunfermline Athletic on 11 June 1999, just after their relegation from the SPL,[2] and at various times board positions on league and association bodies in addition to his club role.[1] He "openly criticised" the Old Firm during the 2002 dispute between those clubs and the majority of the Scottish Premier League members regarding a new television broadcasting contract.[4]

He stepped down as chairman in November 2012, instead taking up a role on the club's charitable arm, the Pars Trust.[5] This came some months after he had publicly supported the removal of Rangers from the SPL owing to their holding company being liquidated,[6] only for Dunfermline (12th out of 12 teams in the 2011–12 season) to be overlooked for the vacant place in the top division, which instead went to Dundee.[7] The following year, despite Yorkston's previous positive comments on the club's financial state,[8] Dunfermline entered administration and were deducted points,[9] followed by the threat of liquidation later in 2013,[10] although ultimately this was avoided.[11]

Personal life

Yorkston is a lifelong fan of the Pars and has two sons and seven grandchildren.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Appointments: John Wood Yorkston, Companies House
  2. 1 2 3 "The Dunfermline Athletic Board". Dunfermline Athletic F.C. official website. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  3. ↑ "John Yorkston". LinkedIn. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "Yorkston counters TV claims". BBC Sport. 8 July 2002. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  5. ↑ Dunfermline: John Yorkston to stand down as chairman, BBC Sport, 9 November 2012
  6. ↑ Interview: John Yorkston, Dunfermline chairman, Paul Forsyth, The Scotsman, 6 May 2012
  7. ↑ Yorkston wanting answers over snub, Evening Times,19 July 2012
  8. ↑ Dunfermline 'can deal with drop' - John Yorkston, BBC Sport, 8 May 2012
  9. ↑ Yorkston hits out at fans group as winding up order is served, Dunfermline Press, 15 March 2013
  10. ↑ Legal bid liquidation threat for supporters, The Herald, 10 October 2013
  11. ↑ "Pars are officially out of administration eight months after club's future was thrown in doubt". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
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