Hearts to ask fans for help raising £2.5m

By STUART BATHGATE
Published on 24/05/2013 11:22

HEARTS face a funding gap of £2.5million for the year to June 2014 and could again ask the club’s supporters to dip into their own pockets to fill it.

Addressing yesterday’s annual general meeting at Tynecastle, Hearts director Sergejus Fedotovas said he thought it was realistic to expect £1m of the shortfall to come from player transfers, with the remainder being supplied by a “membership scheme”. But he gave few details of how that scheme would be run or what benefits, if any, it would bring to the

supporters,

“The player sales revenue

[estimate] is based on the historic record as well as the existing potential of the squad,” Fedotovas said at the agm, which

was attended by around 250 shareholders.

“We believe we have talent considerably in excess of our calculation but, being realistic, we have put a figure of £1m.

“The membership scheme will be directed to bring more additional value to supporters. We are working to finalise the proposal.”

Hearts majority shareholder

Vladimir Romanov initially proposed a form of membership scheme shortly after his takeover, when he planned to buy up all the shares in the club. At the time he called it a loyalty association but that plan was dropped when he opted not to buy up all shares.

More recently, the club contemplated a scheme in which supporters would pledge a monthly sum to the club. Designed to win support away from the Foundation of Hearts, which is operating a pledge scheme in the hope of making a successful bid for control of the club, that scheme was due to be launched under the working title “The Maroon Solution”.

More recently, however, the club has enjoyed better relations with the Foundation, which has united a number of supporters’ groups under the independent chairmanship of Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray. Hearts thus appeared to move away from replicating the Foundation’s pledge scheme. The nature of any revived membership set-up therefore remains uncertain.

The most recent annual report admitted to uncertainty about how the funding gap should be bridged – and that any shortfall could have serious consequences for Hearts’ ability to continue as a going concern. “The directors have proposed cashflow projections through to June 2014, which they believe to be realistic and achievable,” page 13 of the report states. “The projections include significant new outgoings. . . Whilst the projections indicate that the company can remain cash positive through to the end of next season, there are two income streams within these projections, being player sales and the soon-to-be-launched membership scheme, which cannot be quantified with any certainty.

“The directors are confident that, up to a certain level, shortfalls in these two income streams could, if required, be offset by additional savings in player wages. However, the uncertain nature of these income streams. . . could impact upon the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

A share issue and other fundraising brought in £1m to avert a cash crisis last year but Fedotovas admitted that, if the club goes into administration, – something he is working to avoid – those shares would disappear.

There were five formal items voted on, four of which were approved with no opposition. A resolution to reappoint Roman Romanov, Vladimir’s son, as a director was unanimously rejected by a show of hands from the floor. Once the votes are formally counted and Romanov snr’s shares are taken into account, however, the appointment should be approved by a large majority.

Taken from the Scotsman