Geoff Brown has announced he will sell his majority stake in St Johnstone and donate the net proceeds to the club’s community trust.
The decision comes 24 hours after his son, Steve Brown, confirmed he would step down as chairman at the end of the season.
Building firm owner Geoff Brown bought the club in 1986 and was chairman until 2011, before making way for Steve.
The majority shareholder will reassume the chair on 1 June if a sale is not complete, but he is looking to hand on the ownership of the club before then.
The Brown family’s spell in control has seen Saints move to a new stadium, win their first three major trophies and enjoy several forays into European football.
Geoff Brown said: “As those that know me well will attest to, my ownership of St Johnstone Football Club has never been about the money.
“It has been a labour of love that, at the heart of it, has been an ongoing mission to ensure the stability and financial viability of the football club, whilst always striving to achieve success on the park.
“It is therefore my intention that the net proceeds from the sale of my shareholding will be put towards building a community hub for the St Johnstone Community Trust, for the benefit of the football club and the local community.
“Whilst not without its many challenges, I will always look back on my 37 years as majority shareholder of St Johnstone Football Club with fondness and, with the building of the community hub, I am keen to ensure a legacy that will be enjoyed by many for generations to come.”
In 1970, Brown founded house builder GS Brown Construction. He is still chair of the family business, with two of his sons also on the board of directors.
Brown took control of St Johnstone in 1986, raising £150,000 in a rights issue to save the club from financial ruin.
The team rose from second-bottom in the Scottish Second Division in 1986 to mid-table in the Scottish Premier Division in late 1990.
During this period, Brown oversaw the sale of Muirton Park to Asda and the club's move to a newly-built McDiarmid Park stadium in the Tulloch area of the city, which was opened in 1989.
Brown was given an OBE in the most recent New Year's Honours for services to Scottish football and the community in Perth.
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