Scottish Premiership football club Heart of Midlothian has confirmed that Tony Bloom has offered to invest £9.86 million in the club in return for a 29% stake via non-voting shares.
Hearts said a consultation period with the club’s majority shareholders – the Foundation of Hearts (FOH) – will now begin.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland (UK). The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football.
Hearts play at the 19,852-capacity Tynecastle Park, also known as the Tynecastle Stadium, in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh.
The club is recommending acceptance of Bloom’s offer which it says will “take the club forward into a new era.”
It added that on the pitch, there will be investment in the first team playing squad through the assistance provided by the Jamestown Analytics model.
Off the pitch, the investment will help to futureproof a sustainable business model, one which reduces the reliance on external benefactors and maximises the club’s earning potential.
It said in a statement, “This opportunity has not come around by accident.
“Tony Bloom has done his due diligence (as has the club) and he has recognised both the importance of Heart of Midlothian Football Club and its significant potential.
“His past and ongoing successes with Brighton & Hove Albion in England and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium are there for all to see, and with Hearts, he sees the chance to play a part in another success story.
“He believes Hearts can disrupt Scottish football, and he wants to be a part of a new glorious chapter in Hearts’ history.”
The club said the consultation will explain the proposal to FOH members and ascertain their views before asking them to vote on it.
A majority of FOH members’ acceptance is required (as determined by the FoH board) for the proposal to be successfully carried forward.
Following the FOH consultation process, an Extraordinary General Meeting of the club’s shareholders will be called in order to formally approve the transaction. The consultation period ends on May 26.
In the meantime, the transaction remains subject to entry into legally binding documentation, Scottish Football Association approval and other normal course regulatory requirements.
The club added, “Let us state at the outset: the Foundation of Hearts Board believe that this investment in the club presents an opportunity to realise the club’s full potential and take it into a new era.
“It is the recommendation of your Board that you vote in favour of accepting the proposal.”
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