Planned £10m investment in Hearts goes to fan vote

A British entrepreneur and English Premier League chairman’s proposed £10m investment in Hearts has gone to a fan vote.

Tony Bloom, the Brighton and Hove Albion chairman, is close to becoming a minority shareholder at Tynecastle Park but needs approval from the Foundation of Hearts, which owns the Edinburgh club on behalf of fans.

The club issued an announcement on Tuesday confirming the businessman has proposed to invest capital of £9.86m into the club for which he shall receive a 29% stake.

The shares issued to Mr Bloom would be non-voting shares, meaning he cannot vote on club matters.

A consultation stage will now be launched and more than 8,000 members will be invited to vote for or against Mr Bloom’s investment in the club.

The vote needs a majority of more than 50 percent to be accepted.

Should the vote gain a majority, Mr Bloom would continue as chairman of English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, and as a minority shareholder at the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise.

A Heart’s statement read: “Heart of Midlothian can confirm that Tony Bloom has made a proposal to invest capital of £9.86m into the club for which he shall receive a 29% stake in the club via non-voting shares.

“A consultation period with the club’s majority shareholders – the Foundation of Hearts – will now begin.

“The consultation will explain the proposal to FOH members and ascertain their views before asking them to vote on this. 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.

“In the meantime, the transaction remains subject to entry into legally binding documentation, SFA approval and other normal course regulatory requirements.”

A statement issued to its members from the Foundation of Hearts stated: “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. We hope that, by the time you have read the following information, digested and considered it, you are in agreement.”