Hearts chief refuses to deny share speculation

THE ongoing saga surrounding the precarious financial situation at Tynecastle took a new twist yesterday when Chris Robinson, the chief executive of Hearts, refused to deny the revelation that a group of English-based businessmen had inquired about buying his shares in the club.

After it emerged negotiations had taken place during the past six months, when lawyers representing both parties had exchanged correspondence about a possible deal to purchase the chief executive’s shareholding, Robinson declined to discuss the matter in any detail.

However, he stopped short of issuing a categorical denial. "This story lacks substance, names and detail," commented the chief executive, "and it would therefore be totally inappropriate for me to comment."

Sources had indicated that a proposal to buy Robinson’s 19 per cent stake was first made last summer by an unnamed group which views Hearts as a club with potential which could be turned around in the medium to long term.

Robinson has never hidden his willingness to sell to the right bidder, though it beggars belief any interested party would pay a premium price of £1.40 per share (valuing the chief executive’s minority holding at around £3million) when the stock market valuation is currently just 61p.

Even at that lower figure, he would still make a small profit on the £1.1million he initially agreed to pay in 1994 with his then partner Leslie Deans to buy out former owner Wallace Mercer for £2.2million.

Last February, Deans made Hearts an £8million offer which valued the shares at 75p. That bid, which insisted on the removal of Robinson, was rejected on the grounds that it wasn’t in the club’s best interests.

Hearts reported a loss for last year of £3.8 million and overall debt of more than £10million. Since the club issued their accounts last autumn, little has changed which would suggest financial improvement was in the offing. Indeed, uncertainty over Scottish football’s next TV deal, as well as Hearts’ removal from the Scottish Cup at the hands of Inverness on Saturday, may have deepened any short-term problems.

Any party interested in buying the Hearts chief executive’s holding would also need to come to some arrangement with either Scottish Media Group, which owns 20 per cent of the business, or Deans and his associate Robert McGrail, who own 24 per cent.

Given SMG’s own well documented problems in the rest of their business, the possibility of the media group being willing to sell their stake in Hearts at a reduced rate can’t be discounted. In the hypothetical circumstances of an SMG sale, whoever bought the shares could choose to form a new alliance with Deans rather than Robinson, and the chief executive might find himself out in the cold - his holding effectively worthless.

Equally, if Robinson did a deal to sell his shares with a consortium which then made an arrangement with Deans instead of SMG, then the media company could be marginalised.

This mirror image of the existing situation - where Deans, the former chairman, is the significant shareholder on the outside of the board looking in - suggests a shake-up in the already complex ownership of Hearts could happen sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh City Council yesterday granted Hearts detailed planning permission to begin work on their £6 million football academy and training facility at Heriot-Watt University.

The Tynecastle side are on course to become the second SPL club to complete such a venture, following the construction of Rangers’ £14million centre at Auchenhowie.

Robinson said: "Once completed, hopefully early in 2003, the academy will enhance our already fine reputation in the field of youth development."

Former Rangers and Scotland striker Gordon Durie, 36, who is currently without a club, is ready to hang up his boots because of back problems.

Kenny Clark will referee next Tuesday’s Rangers-Celtic CIS Cup semi-final at Hampden. Michael McCurry will take charge of the Ayr-Hibs semi the following evening.

Taken from the Scotsman