FAN’S £2.5m GIFT KEEPS GORGIE MEN IN BLACK

HEARTS returned a £2.3million profit for the last financial year — largely thanks to a £2.5m cheque being written by a mystery benefactor. The Gorgie club posted the impressive figures for the financial year ending June 30, 2017, despite spending £6.9m on rebuilding the main stand at Tynecastle. While turnover increased by £1.3m to £11.3m, the main reason the club stayed in the black was the largesse of an individual whose contribution was conditional on remaining anonymous. The stand, which will eventually cost £14m, was finally opened when Partick Thistle visited on Sunday — seven months after the last league match at their spiritual home. The club have committed to spending a further £5.9m to finish redeveloping their stadium, with a £1.75m bank loan at their disposal if required to complete the work. The Foundation of Hearts (FoH) contributed £1.5m to the cost of the main stand in the last financial year. By the time the work is finished, that amount will have doubled as fans continue to plough in money via season-ticket sales. Over 14,000 season books were sold in 2016, with a similar amount purchased again for this season. More than £4m of Hearts’ income in the last 12 months came via gate receipts. Other notes in the accounts detail that the club had more than £5.5m cash at bank and in hand as of June, they received £384,000 from player sales and development fees, and spent £454,000 on signing new players. Their total staf costs currently sit at £5.9m, including wages for all 275 employees at Hearts — football and non-football. The accounts state cashflow projections from directors through to November 2018. These include continued contributions of £125,000 per month from FoH, the additional £1.75m loan, plus the realisation of new income and revenue streams from the main stand which is due to be fully operational by next summer. Owner Ann Budge said: ‘This was always going to be a really challenging year, with a number of milestones to be achieved but we met these challenges head on and delivered against most of our main objectives. ‘Despite the disruption, we were able to continue to grow our revenues across all areas of the club, with turnover increasing by £1.3m to £11.3m. This was largely due to the continued support of our fans, over 13,700 of whom bought season tickets.’ The club’s 111th annual general meeting takes place on December 11.