GREENOCK confectionery company Golden Casket has revealed it fell to a loss of more than £2 million after writing off an investment in and loan to Morton.

The Rae family firm’s latest Companies House filing shows that it slipped to an after-tax loss of £2.016 million in the year to the end of 2021, from a profit of £436,075 in the prior 12 months.

Based at Fort Matilda Industrial Estate, it made an operating profit of £463,155 from its confectionery business, which was up from £420,939 in the prior 12 months.

The company said directors were 'pleased with the overall performance of the business', adding that turnover from its core confectionery activity had 'increased by 15 per cent and returned to pre-pandemic levels despite high levels of competition'.

Morton was taken over by supporters last year after 20 years in the hands of the Rae family.

Fans' investment group Morton Club Together struck a deal to have the club's debt pile written off.

It came after a couple of years where MCT had funnelled money into the club through monthly payments and took a presence on the club board.

The group, which has almost 1,000 members, has pumped £500k into Morton since being set up in 2019, taking control and retaining ownership of Cappielow.

Under the deal Golden Casket, famous for its Millions brand, kept ownership of the car park land opposite the stadium on Sinclair Street.

In their strategic report in the accounts, signed on behalf of the board by Crawford Rae, ex-Morton chairman, Casket directors say: “In September 2021, the remainder of our shareholding in Greenock Morton Football Club was transferred to Morton Club Together (MCT), ending our long association with the club.

"As part of the transaction, our substantial investment in the club and a loan totalling £2,385,213 were written off such that our overall result for the year is a loss after tax of £2,016,442.”

When the takeover deal was finalised in September 2021 Mr Rae said: "There is no better legacy for the Rae family than to afford the fans the opportunity of community ownership, which is why we decided to gift MCT our majority shareholding as opposed to selling to a third party.

"The vision that MCT displayed to our family convinced us that community ownership was the best option for the future success of Greenock Morton and the right time for us to step aside."

Mr Rae’s late father, Douglas, founded Golden Casket in 1959 and it has grown to become a highly successful firm.

Douglas, who rescued his beloved Ton from administration and brink of liquidation in 2001, was made an OBE in 2016.

He died two years later aged 87.

Golden Casket's latest filings show that turnover rose to £21.6 million in the year to December 2021, from £18.4m in the prior 12 months.

The firm's workforce was steady, at 45 employees.