Jambos announce profit but not the benefactors

Hearts have announced a profit of £1.6 million for the financial year ending June 30, largely due to the contribution of £3.25 million from unnamed benefactors.

An “exceptional donation” of £1 million was made towards player costs, while the club received a further £2.25 million from the anonymous source which was put towards the redevelopment of Tynecastle Park.

Despite owner Ann Budge lamenting a “disappointing” final Premiership position of sixth in the 2018-19 campaign, Hearts’ turnover increased by more than 20% from £12.1 million to £15.1 million compared to the previous year.

This reflected a 31% increase in commercial activities, the Jambos’ strong performance in both national cup competitions and the receipt of more than £500,000 in players sales – most notably Kyle Lafferty’s protracted move to Rangers last August.

Fans’ group Foundation of Hearts (FoH) continued to make progress towards fan ownership by contributing another £1.32 million to Budge’s BIDCO (1874) Ltd company over the course of the year.

FoH, who already have two representatives on the board, are scheduled to formally take control of the club in the spring of 2020.

However, much of that income was offset by substantial payments of £3.6 million made in connection to the Tynecastle Redevelopment Fund, which includes the completion of Tynecastle’s new Main Stand.

Staff costs rose from £7 million to £8.2 million, operating charges went up from £6.1 million to £6.5 million and a combined total of £1.7 million in loans were reimbursed to Budge.

Signing off on the accounts, which show Hearts boast net assets totalling £17.5 million, Budge wrote: “It was another challenging year both on and off the pitch. However, we continued to focus on our core values and have delivered a very positive financial performance.

“This bodes very well for the future.”

Hearts owner Ann Budge