Robinson in talks to sell Hearts shares

HEARTS chief executive Chris Robinson has been in negotiations over relinquishing control at Tynecastle for the past six months.

It is understood a consortium of England-based businessmen first contacted the Gorgie chief last summer with a proposal to buy his shares and received sufficient encouragement to pursue the matter.

Lawyers representing both parties are thought to have exchanged correspondence with a view to Robinson’s entire holding in the club being bought up - he owns almost 19 per cent of Hearts with just under two-and-a-half million shares.

But a potential stumbling block could be the price being sought by the chief executive to sell out which is believed could be up to 140p per share.

A source close to the group confirmed Robinson’s willingness to discuss the sale.

"The consortium was looking at some possible investments and identified Hearts as a football club with a lot of potential," he said.

"The Tynecastle chief executive was contacted and it’s my understanding that the group was given enough encouragement to pursue the matter and got the impression that a deal could be struck."

Robinson has always indicated he would be willing to relinquish his control of the club if a suitable offer was received.

Only last year, though, the club turned down an £8 million cash injection from a consortium led by former chairman Leslie Deans, a vociferous critic of the way Robinson has run the Tynecastle outfit since his departure from the board over two years ago.

Central to that offer was the removal of Robinson as chief executive but the club dismissed the bid because it was not "in the best interests" of Hearts.

It is understood that Deans is not involved in this takeover bid. Disgruntled shareholders called for the resignation of Robinson at the club’s stormy agm in November but he insisted at the time he had no intention of quitting. Interestingly, though, he revealed he was unsure if the current board of directors would still be in place 12 months down the line.

"Me resigning is not on the cards. The situation is that I have the full support of the board, the major shareholders as well as the club’s bankers and backers," he said in November. "They (the shareholders) know the sometimes unpopular job I do is in the best short-term and long-term interests of Hearts. If I am not doing this job someone else will have to and it is a very difficult one in the current climate in Scottish football. Having said that, I can’t say if myself and the same board will be here next year at this time or not."

The source also spoke of his belief that the consortium had been disappointed at the club’s recent financial performance - record losses have been posted for the past two years - although the indication is the £7.5 million losses would not be enough to douse the enthusiasm to see the deal completed.

"As far as I know they last spoke to Mr Robinson about a month ago and the situation is ongoing," he said. "Because they have other priorities to attend to, though, I don’t see them being in a position to do something in the short term.

"Things may have been protracted for one reason or another but it appears they are still very much interested in Hearts."

Robinson today refused to be drawn on the suggestion he is considering quitting Tynecastle, saying: "This story lacks substance, names and detail and it would therefore be totally inappropriate for me to comment."

Taken from the Scotsman