THREE Scottish sides have been named in the UK's top ten most investable clubs.
Last season's feel good men Arbroath top the list, with fellow Championship side Ayr United placed in second.
Livingston are the only top flight side inside the top ten, with the rest of the most investable teams made up of English Football League clubs.
The research comes from a collaboration between football finance expert Dr Rob Wilson and BetVictor.
They studied the investment potential of UK football clubs, with over 100 examined.
The study considers everything from current infrastructure and stadium utilisation to digital presence and financial health, to identify the teams that make prime candidates for expansion, and present would be buyers with the greatest investment opportunities.
Ranks are calculated based on opportunity for growth in each area. This is calculated using a weighted scoring model which combines several factors into a single score.
For digital footprint, the reseach analyses a club’s digital presence across social media and search engines. Scores consider presence in different international markets, and the desirability and profitability of being in those territories.
Infrastructure-wise, the state of a club’s infrastructure is considered by stadium condition, training facilities, youth facilities, youth recruitment, corporate facilities, and transport links.
Utilisation – a team’s stadium utilisation by assessing attendance levels, ticket sales, and ticket revenue.
And finally from a financial perspective a team’s financial health is examined by looking at revenue, net assets, net profit, wage turnover ratio, and more.
With all of that taken into account, Arbroath prevailed at the top of the list, with the ranking algorithm pointing to the club’s infrastructure condition and fan engagement as opportunities for growth from a potentially minor investment.
Ayr United is the second highest rated team based on takeover potential, it has the highest utilisation rank which means if the club were successfully scaled it offers the best ROI in this category.
And then Livi with their current recruitment approach, which relies wholly on free transfers, presenting potential investors with funds to spend in the transfer market a great investment opportunity.
The full top ten:
1) Arbroath
2) Ayr United
3) Cheltenham Town
4) Crawley Town
5) Grimsby Town
6) Stevenage
7) Carlisle United
8) Exeter City
9) Swindon Town
10) Livingston
