Sutton will be the only player to leave Hearts

Richard Wilson
Sports writer
Tuesday 25 June 2013

John Sutton is likely to be the only player to leave Tynecastle as a result of Heart of Midlothian plc falling into administration.

Four squad members were identified as potential redundancies last week, however wage cuts agreed by Jamie Hamill, Ryan Stevenson and Kevin McHattie have allowed room for manoeuvre. It is understood that Sutton believes he can find better terms elsewhere and that individuals within the club now expect him to be released.

Fourteen office staff were made redundant last week after the accountancy firm BDO were appointed as administrators. A plea was then made to supporters to buy 3000 season tickets to provide the £750,000 estimated to be required to allow HMFC plc to survive until October, by which time BDO hope to have secured the future of the club's operating company.

Hamill, Stevenson and McHattie all readily agreed to 50% wage cuts, although all of the remaining staff have been warned that future salary payments may be delayed. There are four credible parties currently interested in buying HMRC plc, including Foundation of Hearts, a coalition of fan groups, and a consortium fronted by Gordon McKie, the former Scottish Rugby Union chief executive.

Any bid would need to take into account the value of Tynecastle. Ukio Bankas, who are owed £15m and own a 29.9% stake in HMFC plc, hold a security over the ground and will only accept an offer for the club and the stadium that meets their valuation of the land, which is likely to be somewhere in the region of £4m. UBIG, who hold 50% of the shares and are owed £10m, would also need to agree to any sale price, with the proceeds being used to pay BDO and a proportion of the debt held by Hearts' creditors in a Company Voluntary Arrangement.

However, any prospective new owner would need to have the means to make up a funding shortfall of around £3m, on top of the purchase price. Hearts had sold around 7000 season tickets prior to administration, but the revenue has already been spent.

With the income the administrators hope to raise from the sale of a further 3000 season tickets being needed to meet current running costs, the new owners would need to fund the club until next summer, when the 2014/15 season tickets go on sale, with limited revenue available in the meantime and a young, relatively inexperienced team that is likely to be relegated because of the 15-point sanction that will apply next season.

The difficulty for BDO is that any prospective buyer would want the price to reflect the future funding shortfall. At the same time, Ukio Bankas will want the price to reflect the value of the land that Tynecastle is on, even if planning permission for houses is difficult to achieve because of the surrounding environment and with the property market being depressed. Hearts fans are rallying to the cause, though, with around 1000 season tickets having been sold since last week, and pledges to FoH now being converted into cash.

"A new dawn is breaking with a line being drawn under the previous owners and the debts," said FoH in a statement. "The administrators, BDO, have set a funding target to keep the club going until it is sold. We support this action and it is important that all fans support the club via purchasing season tickets, match tickets and merchandise whilst the administrators are concluding a deal to sell. This revenue keeps the club going in the short term."

There have been further fundraising initiatives, with Selkirk FC pledging to give Hearts half of the gate receipts from their pre-season friendly next month, to officially open the new stand at Yarrow Park, which has been named after the former Hearts and Selkirk player Bob Mercer. Hearts youngsters McHattie, Dale Carrick and Jack Hamilton are also auctioning off a lunch with the three players.

Taken from the Herald