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Value of Tynecastle weighing heavily on Hearts on the brink

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

‘News’ that a football club can actually go out of business will come as a surprise to no one here as Hearts issued a statement saying “Without the support of fans there is a real risk that Hearts could possibly play its last game on 17 November.”

Hearts have two commercial problems: they owe HMRC money they don’t have and their running costs are greater than their income.  They also have over £20m of debt owed to major shareholder, Ukio Bankas, which at this stage of their corporate existence is more of an asset than a liability.

The club have asked supporters to cough up around £2m to pay HMRC and see it through until the end of the season.  A further £1.7m HMRC demand is being contested but should Hearts lose this appeal, that bill will crystallise quickly.

Unlike the now-defunct Rangers, Hearts major shareholder is due more than 75% of the debt, so Ukio could vote to accept a Company Voluntary Arrangement, possibly for as little as 1p in the £1, if the club goes into administration.  This is a well-travelled road for Scottish football clubs who overwhelmingly fail owing shareholders or the bank the majority of their debt.

In this respect, there is no obvious reason why Hearts are in danger of playing their last game next week.  Administration would allow the club to shed its debt, including the contested tax bill.  It would almost certainly result in player redundancies, which would reduce expenditure below the level of income.  Hearts would be diminished as a football club, and would take a 17 point hit in the SPL, but that is as bad as it needs to get. Ukio Bankas would take the largest hit on money they may well have already written-off.

The only thing I see for Hearts fans to worry about is the property value of Tynecastle.  Ukio will almost certainly have a charge on all the club’s property assets.  If the club disappears, they would be left with the real estate.  Tynecastle is worth a whole lot more money as flats than as a football field.

When a company cannot pay its creditors it goes into administration and seeks to negotiate a settlement with them.  Hearts can do this “within days if not hours”, as Our Hero once said.  It’s just curious that Hearts are playing on the bring rather than sorting things out.

Maybe they could get former player and tracksuit salesman, Maurice something-or-other, to sell some of their assets.

The magnificent 1254125 charity cycle, from birthplace of Brother Walfrid, Ballymote, Co. Sligo, to Celtic Park, got underway yesterday. Today the six cyclists, Paul Muldoon (of this parish), Mark Cameron, Alistair Schulz, Robert Campbell Ray McFarland and Jim Kelly, left Blacklion on a 80 mile journey to Lurgan.

Check out their everyclick page for more information.

You can read CQN Magazine for FREE here , you can also subscribe for £10 or £20, and our sponsor, Executive Shaving, who offer an enormous range of grooming products, are offering readers a £20 voucher for all £30 CQN Magazine subscribers.

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  1. bankiebhoy1 on

    Peter.

     

     

    Life is about scoring more points than the bad guysh……………..

     

     

    ( latesht shcore : bad guysh nil – good guysh wan)

     

     

     

    Aye.

  3. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Kano 1000 on

    Good Morning

     

     

    This is the tale of Mr No Complain—- a busted nose— or a big boy did it and didn’t run away!

     

     

    Warning it is long right enough!

     

     

    http://wp.me/p1G95H-F

  4. Jeromek67 on

    Marrakesh Express

     

    I was at that game at Dens Park in 1973….I thought score was 7-1 but I may be wrong. Im sure Kenny Dalglish scored at least a hat trick maybe more.

  5. JimmyQuinnsBits on

    Mea Culpa

     

    23:54 on

     

    9 November, 2012

     

     

    possession stats….

     

     

    Lenny’s gameplan was to push them wide. Against the best possession team in the world, he knew we weren’t going to compete with them on that. How to make their possession as meaningless as possible – don’t let them through the centre where they like to score.

     

     

    The defence, and midfield – in my opinion – did this excellently. So much so that Barca’s gameplan changed in the second half, to one of cross balls from wide areas – something I’ve seldom seen them do.

     

     

    Whilst backing the management team, I’ve posted a few times on here that I though they lacked tactical nous. The defensive play, and Wanyama’s goal, is making me think things have changed here.

  7. Magnificentseven on

    THE EXILED TIM

     

    23:59 on

     

    9 November, 2012

     

    Magnificentseven

     

     

    I was brought up in the NE, the bigotry was nothing like the west, the folks were more concerned about feeding their familys than bothering about anything else.

     

     

     

    to be honest the poppy thing is quite a recent Phenomenon another stick to beat us with if we don’t comply……at least we are not the only rebels this time…plenty people don’t agree with it… Jon Snow being the most prominent who won’t just wear it because you are a traitor if you don’t

  8. emusanorphan on

    Gordon

     

     

    I think they’re mightier than the last time we pumped them :-)

     

     

    I had a Sevcovian with me at the game. Fair play to him he held up display and applauded our goals. He was full of praise for our atmosphere and performance.

     

     

    Just watching Hangover 2. Reminds me of our Degree course. Went to the Students Union in 83′ and next thing I remember is wearing a cape and being doffed in 87. WTF happened? :-)

  9. bankiebhoy1 on

    …..” Shir david……….shall ah just call you………..david?”

     

     

     

    Shoon….

     

     

     

    Soon……………………………!

     

     

    Aye.

  11. THE EXILED TIM on

    Magnificentseven

     

     

    Aye, I have noticed the build up over the years to mock those who don’t wear one, sad, and pathetic.

     

     

    It’s the hypocricy that gets me about the huns, they preach from their percieved moral high ground, yet they are the main contributers to the deaths of their beloved sojers, they are the sad pathetic ones in this.

  12. Jeromek67 on

    Marrakesh Express

     

     

    On relection and the drink may well be kicking in here but was the score not 8-1 ?

  13. Geordie Munro on

    TET, I think the ticket office is yer best bet.

     

     

    If it was for yerself I’d either just wing it and see what was on offer outside, or wait and see if any of the lovely chaps on here had a spare.

     

     

    But seeing its for a prezzie I’d contact the TO.

  16. Gordon64 on

    Emus

     

    I watched the Barca game from the same seat i sat in in 96.

     

    Seen some of our greatest triumphs.

     

    Wednesday night was right up there with the very best.

     

    Re Our student years. How the hell can i remember ?

     

    HH

  20. Geordie Munro on

    TET, I had a quick look there and you might be right.

     

     

    I also noticed I’m gonna miss the games versus Ross County and St Mirren. Grrrr

  21. THE EXILED TIM on

    emu

     

     

    I want to get the young fella a ticket for the Spartak game.

     

     

    He is skint so I was going to treat him, pay for his travel and a few beers and a ticket.

     

     

    It will be his Christmas prezzi.

  23. Gordon64 on

    Emus

     

    Thanks for everything Celtic.

     

    I’ve now passed everything on to my boy.

     

    You would like him.

     

    HH

  24. kitalba on

    PJBhoyNYC, I follwed your link and under it was this –

     

     

    Joy That Lasts, On the Poorest Of Playgrounds

     

     

    By KEN BELSON NYT

     

     

    SOMETIMES a soccer ball is more than just a ball. Sometimes, it’s a lifesaver.

     

     

     

    Tim Jahnigen has always followed his heart, whether as a carpenter, a chef, a lyricist or now as an entrepreneur. So in 2006, when he saw a documentary about children in Darfur who found solace playing soccer with balls made out of garbage and string, he was inspired to do something about it.

     

     

    The children, he learned, used trash because the balls donated by relief agencies and sporting goods companies quickly ripped or deflated on the rocky dirt that doubled as soccer fields. Kicking a ball around provided such joy in otherwise stressful and trying conditions that the children would play with practically anything that approximated a ball.

     

     

    “The only thing that sustained these kids is play,” said Mr. Jahnigen of Berkeley, Calif. “Yet the millions of balls that are donated go flat within 24 hours.”

     

     

    During the next two years, Mr. Jahnigen, who was also working to develop an infrared medical technology, searched for something that could be made into a ball but never wear out, go flat or need a pump. Many engineers he spoke to were dubious of his project. But Mr. Jahnigen eventually discovered PopFoam, a type of hard foam made of ethylene-vinyl acetate, a class of material similar to that used in Crocs, the popular and durable sandals.

     

     

    “It’s changed my life,” he said.

     

     

    Figuring out how to shape PopFoam into a sphere, though, might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and Mr. Jahnigen’s money was tied up in his other business.

     

     

    Then he happened to be having breakfast with Sting, a friend from his days in the music business. Mr. Jahnigen told him how soccer helped the children in Darfur cope with their troubles and his efforts to find an indestructible ball. Sting urged Mr. Jahnigen to drop everything and make the ball. Mr. Jahnigen said that developing the ball might cost as much as $300,000. Sting said he would pay for it.

     

     

    “Even on the harshest of terrain and in the worst of conditions, the ball could survive and the kids could still play,” Sting said in a public service announcement he made with Mr. Jahnigen. “I said, wow, yeah, let’s make it.”

     

     

    Creating a prototype, it turned out, cost about one-tenth as much as expected and took about a year. Sting called it the One World Futbol, a homage to a song he sang with the Police, “One World (Not Three).”

     

     

    To test the balls’ durability, Mr. Jahnigen sent them to places like Rwanda, where they were used at a camp for former child soldiers. A lion at the Johannesburg Zoo, who would go through six regular balls a day, played with two balls. A German shepherd spent a year biting on a ball. In every case, the balls withstood the abuse.

     

     

    “When we tested the first rough prototype on the ground in Rwanda, Haiti and Iraq, it was already infinitely better than a wad of trash or a bottle,” Mr. Jahnigen said.

     

     

    Mr. Jahnigen has developed a fifth generation of the ball, which is rounder than earlier versions. He carries samples around the world to conferences, potential buyers and sponsors. For effect, he crushes them and even drives cars over them. All of them bounce and hold their shape. By his estimate, the ball can last for 30 years, eliminating the need for thousands of hand-sewn leather balls that are typically donated by relief agencies.

     

     

    Mr. Jahnigen has produced about 33,000 balls. About half of them were bought for $40 each. For each ball purchased, another is given away. Word has spread. The ball is being used by a hundred different organizations and has made its way to more than 140 countries. Flight attendants, Doctors Without Borders and a United States Army colonel in Afghanistan have taken balls with them on their travels.

     

     

    “With this ball, we know they can keep the programs going when we leave,” said Nick Gates, the founder of Coaches Across Continents, which helps teachers and coaches in countries like Sudan use soccer as a tool for education and healing. “You can’t do any education without them. They’re more valuable than cows or goats because of the things you can do in the community.”

     

     

    There are challenges, though. Last year, Unicef bought 5,200 One World Futbols at $17 each and gave them to schools in Kenya and Uganda. But because the balls cannot be deflated, they are more difficult to ship. Cost is another issue.

     

     

    “In our experience, there is sure a demand for longer-lasting footballs,” said Shanelle Hall, the director of Unicef’s supply division in Copenhagen, which buys about 30,000 balls a year. But “compared to the $2.50 we pay for a regular football, the current cost difference for the more durable solution is currently too high.”

     

     

    The costs, though, may come down as production increases. In May, Chevrolet, the General Motors division, agreed to buy 1.5 million One World Futbols over the next three years and donate them to needy children.

     

     

    “We believe in the power of play to unite and heal and provide development for children,” said John McFarland, part of the global marketing strategy team at General Motors. “We don’t want to focus on the beautiful game, but what is beautiful about the game.”

     

     

    While ecstatic at the demand, Mr. Jahnigen is scrambling to meet it. At the end of September, the factory in Taiwan that produces the balls has been working two shifts a day to meet its target of 45,000 balls a month. Two 40-foot containers of balls are being shipped each week to recipients around the world, including Indonesia and countries in Africa.

     

     

     

    In time, Mr. Jahnigen said, he hopes to get millions of other balls into the hands of children.

     

     

     

    “A child can play to their heart’s content where there are no content hearts,” he said. “We don’t understand that having a ball is like the best PlayStation 3 or a rocket to Mars.”

  30. emusanorphan on

    Gordon

     

     

    It’s your duty. My Da was Engerlish. All his English mates were HUNS. He chose us in the 50’s when we were mince. I thank Allah every day for his choice.

     

     

    TET

     

     

    I will sort ticket B&B at ours. Working the next day though so cant participate after game :-)

  33. emusanorphan on

    Night Bhoys and Ghirls. Contemplating going to Thistle v Yorksons Huns tomorrow to view Paul Slanes progress.

  34. kitalba on

    emusanorphan:

     

     

    regards your most recent reply to TET…

     

     

    I knew – ten minutes ago – you were going to say that. You have good blood in your veins.

  35. Gordon64 on

    Emus

     

    You were always a mixed up kid.

     

    But by god you love the Celtic.

     

    Praise Allah and Kevin Barry.

     

    HH

  41. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Kano 1000 on

    Sorry but there is a programme on BBC 4 about female singers

     

     

    Has there ever been a voice like that of Dusty Springfield– she could sing anything. Bloody marvellous!!!

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