Ann Budge

[Haken]

Communication, as ever, will be key. To be fair to FoH, they have communicated well, telling us what needs to be told as soon as it makes sense to do it. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man - or, rather, woman - to keep us informed of what's being achieved with the funds we're providing. In fact, I think that will be essential in keeping people informed and involved.

 

I'm hugely grateful to this lady for stumping up the cash. She's made more than I ever will. I'm willing to trust her business knowledge and to continue to buy into the FoH model for as long as it takes.

[1874robbo]

Thank you Ann budge for stepping up to the plate and saving our club when it's obvious no others were willing to part with their money.

This lady has given us a platform to build on for the future I for one am delighted she is on board with us.

[1rousset]

It now looks likely the club my grandfather loved,my father loved,I love and that my children are growing to love is safe albeit about to grow through a period of transition and hopefully transformation.

That makes me very happy and proud of FOH,Ann Budge and every one of us that has pledged so far.

[japanjambo]

i always assumed my monthly pledge was going to continue until the day i died or could no longer afford it.......... this has not changed

 

 

This.

[Hagar the Horrible]

Well done Ann, you have rescued the club, still not out of the woods yet but there is now light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for the hard work. We could all provide a working model for all clubs to get rid of spivs and blazers from OUR game

[Victorian]

Unfortunately for me this morning, I have been subjected to the fevered drooling of a couple of rabid vermins on this revelation. It turns out that the statement re Ann Budge and the outline plans as stated are complete lies and that we are well and truly feckered. Sorry to report this terrible news.

[hughesie27]

Unfortunately for me this morning, I have been subjected to the fevered drooling of a couple of rabid vermins on this revelation. It turns out that the statement re Ann Budge and the outline plans as stated are complete lies and that we are well and truly feckered. Sorry to report this terrible news.

 

FFS Mad Ann Oot. Budge over bitch!

[Clerry Jambo]

The Queen of Hearts indeed......

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

Unfortunately for me this morning, I have been subjected to the fevered drooling of a couple of rabid vermins on this revelation. It turns out that the statement re Ann Budge and the outline plans as stated are complete lies and that we are well and truly feckered. Sorry to report this terrible news.

 

 

You can smell the fear.

[The Gasman]

There's two separate questions worth debating here.

 

The first is that the FOH funds for the first two years will be directed to working capital before we start to repay BIDCO. That is surprising but I think all pledgees can and will live with that.

 

Issue two is the pledge for life thing. Absolutely not what I thought this was about. Even if people want to, the day to day running of the club has to be done based on normal football revenues and club income streams and not an assumption. That people will continue to pay a (sometimes hefty when you think about the donation levels) premium over and above season tickets and merchandise.

 

If we are to keep on pledging a after five years, IMHO it should be to achieve a new extraordinary goal such as a new stand/stadium.

 

A voice of reason

 

 

I had always assumed that my pledge would carry on for ever, but there does need to be some clarity over how that money will be used, now and in the future.

 

I'm delighted that Ann Budge has stepped up to help save the Club, and treat yesterday's statements as being positives for Hearts.

 

I do still think FOH need to do more on their communications though, so we all know exactly how our money is being / will be used, and what input / safe guards we have moving forward.

 

Most of the arguments seem to me to be down to people not having actual information, and making assumptions different from each other. That lack of information should be easily resolved, and FOH should have something robust in place to allow us all to have our input into decisions involving our money and our Club, though obviously the final call will rest (quite rightly IMO) with Ann Budge in the meantime.

 

I'm happy with where we are, but could be happier.

[Victorian]

I did attempt to draw their razor sharp attention to the details of the website statement regarding the initial capital loan and subsequent funding provided from FoH but I was swiftly rebuffed with tales of how the website must be lying. Why would they do this terrible deed to us, I asked of myself... and them. It seems we are being fed lies because of the number of times we have been lied to before on the website. Perhaps the website has become an autonomous evil entity in it's own right. I really don't know where to turn to next.

[Francis Albert]

 

Jesus Christ, some hearts fans need to give themselves a shake.

 

Romanov has left a disaster site. We need a complete rebuild of club on and off the pitch and we have a funder willing to allow us two years grace in repayments in order to be able to do it.

 

And some people think that's a bad thing?

 

Grow up FFS and sort yourselves out.

Surely one of the lessons of the Vlad experience (and the CPR one) is that questioning is a good thing. I remember the "let's not ask too much about Vlad's plans" argument when he arrived on the scene. "It might put him off". I am not suggesting for one moment that there is any risk of Ann Budge doing a Vlad but the grown up thing to do is not to say "it's all right, just trust her/FoH" but to try to understand what is going on. Especially when it is our money which is being committed. We have had various

guesses about what the ?1.4m per year is for. Investing in the management team and squad to try to ensure promotion, investing in the revamping the youth development side, ensuring there is a sound capital pool in place when FOH buys out Ann Budge, contingency for unexpected costs eg to get the main stand safety certificate etc. The risks involved are different for these different cases. I just don't think "to ensure financial stability" is an adequate explanation for committing ?2.8m of our money.

[I.T.K]

FFS Mad Ann Oot. Budge over bitch!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2014 by I.T.K

[Armageddon]

So ... the press hated the foreign male owner throwing money about like there's no tomorrow ... now we have a Scottish business woman, who's made more money than any of the SevCo owners in the last 10 years, who would rightly look to restructure our financial model and they're on her for "Weilding the axe".

 

Vlad and Budge couldn't be any different if they tried.

Edited February 14, 2014 by T o p S e c r e t

[Terry Tate]

Firstly, huge respect and thank you to Ann Budge.

 

Maybe the rest of this this is a conversation for a different thread but here goes. I'm not a regular poster so please go easy on me but I'm with FF on this one. The argument about needing money to fund x, y and z may well be a worthwhile cause but it is NOT what I've signed up for with my direct debit. I signed up to save the football club and it looks like that goal is now achievable (over 5 years which I have no problem with and of course is fantastic news that should be celebrated). I find the 'pledge for life' argument quite surprising. If the club had just said we are whacking ?120 on all season ticket prices for ever there would have been a melt down on here. My commitment to Hearts is first and foremost buying my season ticket which hopefully I will be able and continue to do for life. I like the idea of FoH existing for those that want to contribute to the club but can't (be it for financial, geography, family, health etc) or have spare cash they would like to invest above the season ticket price but my continued pledge will only be for a specific goal (academy, new main stand, ????) and not just so we can afford slightly better players that still won't be able to compete with the old firm. We are the third best supported team in the country and have accordingly priced season tickets and sponsorship revenue streams, it's ridiculous to need to have extra income to simply survive.

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

I did attempt to draw their razor sharp attention to the details of the website statement regarding the initial capital loan and subsequent funding provided from FoH but I was swiftly rebuffed with tales of how the website must be lying. Why would they do this terrible deed to us, I asked of myself... and them. It seems we are being fed lies because of the number of times we have been lied to before on the website. Perhaps the website has become an autonomous evil entity in it's own right. I really don't know where to turn to next.

 

[Barney Rubble]

I did attempt to draw their razor sharp attention to the details of the website statement regarding the initial capital loan and subsequent funding provided from FoH but I was swiftly rebuffed with tales of how the website must be lying. Why would they do this terrible deed to us, I asked of myself... and them. It seems we are being fed lies because of the number of times we have been lied to before on the website. Perhaps the website has become an autonomous evil entity in it's own right. I really don't know where to turn to next.

 

Kev Moffats the man to see , he could pen you a seriously worded letter to the president of LIFFUUAYNAA and get this whole mess sorted for you !

[buzzbomb]

Thanks Ann.

 

For me I'm happy to contribute for as long as it takes to achieve the following:

 

1. Save club

2. Return to top division

3. Build new stand to replace main stand

 

At the end of this, with the club debt-free, it should be easy for the club to run within its means and be inthe top 2/3.

 

Longer term, I think we should look to have a membership scheme at say ?50 a year and try and encourage 20000 members.

 

Members would be entered for draws for tickets etc.

Edited February 14, 2014 by buzzbomb

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

From the bullet points in the BBC article, it says:

 

(FOH plans)

 

* To provide financial support to enable the capital loan to be repaid in full

 

Can someone clarify this bit for me? Cheers.

[doctor jambo]

I share the FF thoughts.

My assumption was - pay in, pa back loans and therefore transition to fan owned ASAP.

that is not the proposition now

Two years for complete ownership was sufficinet and now is not?

Really?

And what we are really talking about here is the cost of season tickets being hiked so instead of ?300 its now, including your pledge ?420

But instead of the extra ?120 BUYING the club that is not the case and it will be spent on wages etc. That is not what I want

And whilst I have no reason to distrust Budge I am also heartily sick of ANYONE controlling things by the financial balls thanks very much nad the sooner we get her out the better. This should have been a two year stepping stone only with her as a CREDITOR not owner/operator

[Barney Rubble]

Welcome aboard Queen Anne , just one thing , no Delia Smith like capers hogging the mic singing Hearts songs whilst smashed oot yer face , apart from that do whatever it takes !

[I.T.K]

Firstly, huge respect and thank you to Ann Budge.

 

Maybe the rest of this this is a conversation for a different thread but here goes. I'm not a regular poster so please go easy on me but I'm with FF on this one. The argument about needing money to fund x, y and z may well be a worthwhile cause but it is NOT what I've signed up for with my direct debit. I signed up to save the football club and it looks like that goal is now achievable (over 5 years which I have no problem with and of course is fantastic news that should be celebrated). I find the 'pledge for life' argument quite surprising. If the club had just said we are whacking ?120 on all season ticket prices for ever there would have been a melt down on here. My commitment to Hearts is first and foremost buying my season ticket which hopefully I will be able and continue to do for life. I like the idea of FoH existing for those that want to contribute to the club but can't (be it for financial, geography, family, health etc) or have spare cash they would like to invest above the season ticket price but my continued pledge will only be for a specific goal (academy, new main stand, ????) and not just so we can afford slightly better players that still won't be able to compete with the old firm. We are the third best supported team in the country and have accordingly priced season tickets and sponsorship revenue streams, it's ridiculous to need to have extra income to simply survive.

 

I can understand why you feel this is not what you 'signed up for'.

 

But I would ask:

 

1. Do think the plan has logic and will deliver healthy fan owned football club in 5 years?

2. What did you sign up for?

Edited February 14, 2014 by I.T.K

[WeeToonJambo]

I'm quite surprised by FF's stance on continuing DD payment once the club is in FoH's hands, but as one of the best posters on here , I fully respect his views

My understanding is that signing up to FoH was more like paying an annual membership fee.

Some may argue, rightly in a way, that your ST money entitles you to "membership" but to me that is a fee to purchase a seat at matches, not to be a member/owner of the club.

As with say a golf club, members pay annual subs, which are seen by the club an additional/normal income stream and therefore by spending that income they are not living beyond their means.

It is up to every individual if you wish to continue your membership or not.

Exactly my thinking. As far as I'm concerned my DD is for life or until such time as FOH stop collecting them, for whatever reason.

[Francis Albert]

 

From the bullet points in the BBC article, it says:

 

(FOH plans)

 

* To provide financial support to enable the capital loan to be repaid in full

 

Can someone clarify this bit for me? Cheers.

Isn't it just referring to paying back Ann Budge the ?2.5m to eventually buy the club?

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

 

Isn't it just referring to paying back Ann Budge the ?2.5m to eventually buy the club?

 

FoH being you and I? Then who are we assisting?

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

Maybe its just me, but the wording on the BBC is really scattered, and FoH means the fans one minute, and the whole shooting match including Bidco the next.

 

The last bullet point talks of FoH creating a new structure to enable fan ownership, but further up it talks of FoH (us fans) providing financial support to repay AB.

 

So are we supporting ourselves financially to repay the loan from Ann Budge, while creating a structure to allow ourselves to own the club?

[Terry Tate]

I can understand why you feel this is not what you 'signed up for'.

 

But I would ask:

 

1. Do think the plan has logic and will deliver healthy fan owned football club in 5 years?

2. What did you sign up for?

 

1. Absolutely, I think the 5 year plan is sound and will continue to honour my pledges for the duration of that period (providing I can financially). I don't share the reservations of others about the two years before repayment as the club is in such financial strife. I'd rather we were given a realistic timetable rather than a promise of everything will be rosy in two years time.

2. I signed up to save the club and turn it to fan ownership where no individual can use it as a play thing, this will hopefully be achieved in 5 years time. Beyond that I don't see why I should pay an additional monthly fee for the sake of it and will need to be persuaded to do so.

 

Of those that are happy to pay a DD for life after the club is fan owned and self sustainable, what is the primary motivation?

[Gene Parmesan]

I share the FF thoughts.

My assumption was - pay in, pa back loans and therefore transition to fan owned ASAP.

that is not the proposition now

Two years for complete ownership was sufficinet and now is not?

Really?

And what we are really talking about here is the cost of season tickets being hiked so instead of ?300 its now, including your pledge ?420

But instead of the extra ?120 BUYING the club that is not the case and it will be spent on wages etc. That is not what I want

And whilst I have no reason to distrust Budge I am also heartily sick of ANYONE controlling things by the financial balls thanks very much nad the sooner we get her out the better. This should have been a two year stepping stone only with her as a CREDITOR not owner/operator

 

It's about stabilising the club's finances, eliminating the budget deficit and getting some cash reserves together. It's a worst-case plan and all the excess FoH annual capital goes towards the repayments.

 

If you think AB is going to start throwing around daft cash on playing budgets you are absolutely barking.

[Hagar the Horrible]

 

Firstly, huge respect and thank you to Ann Budge.

 

Maybe the rest of this this is a conversation for a different thread but here goes. I'm not a regular poster so please go easy on me but I'm with FF on this one. The argument about needing money to fund x, y and z may well be a worthwhile cause but it is NOT what I've signed up for with my direct debit. I signed up to save the football club and it looks like that goal is now achievable (over 5 years which I have no problem with and of course is fantastic news that should be celebrated). I find the 'pledge for life' argument quite surprising. If the club had just said we are whacking ?120 on all season ticket prices for ever there would have been a melt down on here. My commitment to Hearts is first and foremost buying my season ticket which hopefully I will be able and continue to do for life. I like the idea of FoH existing for those that want to contribute to the club but can't (be it for financial, geography, family, health etc) or have spare cash they would like to invest above the season ticket price but my continued pledge will only be for a specific goal (academy, new main stand, ????) and not just so we can afford slightly better players that still won't be able to compete with the old firm. We are the third best supported team in the country and have accordingly priced season tickets and sponsorship revenue streams, it's ridiculous to need to have extra income to simply survive.

 

I am not sure but for tax reasons that would not be a good idea, Having this addition revenue stream will provide us with long term stability and if we cut our cloth accordingly we will be able to still be competitive again, You want to be somewhere between Vlad and the Tache, Vlad gave us a merry ride, and it was fun, but we are now paying the price for it, The Tache has kept a tight hold on the accounts at Hibs and have failed to reach mediocrity. WE don't need to make a profit, but we should not need to run up and end up financing a huge debt either.

 

Man Utd were a club in massive profit, and as such were open to a takeover by spivs, Shareholders got a good return on their investment, but as we are emotional investors we can fend of any future attempt from spivs. Celtic di well under wee Fergus, but there are not a lot of people like that around, I think a lot of clubs around the country will be watching how we perform over the next 5 years, For the sake of the game as a whole we need to make it a success, This should also keep the money in the game. For me get rid of the spivs first then go after the blazers then the agents.

[redm]

Wow. Well the mood in the last few pages of this thread is a little different than I expected.

Glad to see things looking up by page 7 and 8

 

If I could give Ann Budge a massive cuddle I absolutely would. Plenty of us would declare that if we had the money we'd help out, but there's a big difference between talking a good game and actually putting your hand in your pocket and risking a significant amount of your own personal wealth. She has shown a massive amount of faith in both the club itself and in the fans and for that I'll be eternally grateful. If she hadn't done that, I really don't know where we might have been. It's all very good pledging and promising cash over a period of time but you need the readies up front before you can get the ball rolling. What a smasher of a woman. Thank you so much Ann.

 

As for a slight change to the plans, I'm struggling to understand the reaction to that tbh. While I fully appreciate the need for scrutiny and careful consideration, my personal view is that it's only worth getting upset about if you don't understand the reasons or motivations for the amendments to the original plan. I can't pretend to know the ins and outs of what has been happening but none of what is being proposed has come as any sort of surprise. We have a lot of rebuilding to do just to operate as a normal club again, never mind one with any sort of ambitions. I'm in for the long haul, I'll do what they ask of me for as long as it needs to be done. Onwards and upwards.

[Don Dan]

Are people forgetting that when Bidco take over which could be in a 6-8 period Hearts have no money to speak of. If all our pledges in the bank go towards paying the loan back how do we run the club? Also it will be nice for once to have our ST money for next year actually used for next year and not ploughed into this season.

This plan and financial model that AB has worked out sounds very good to me. No more leaving ourselves short of cash if something unexpected happens and most importantly paying our bills and on time as well. All this within the sort of time scales spoken about previously. Also once the loans are paid back we can then review our pledges and decide if we continue or adopt another use for them, those that don't want to continue indefinitely pledging can withdraw and continue with the normal methods of support.

[The Merse]

I'm a little torn on this.

 

I don't quite understand why the club needs an additional ?1.4m above our turnover per year given how much we've had to cut our cloth during the admin process.

 

Obviously our turnover is going to reduce next year due to being in The Championship but I can't see why our costs should be so much higher thereafter that we can't live within our means.

 

We've been chasing our tail for a couple of years with early season tickets and I can understand the additional ?1m up front working capital to see us into next season but I really don't see why our expnediture needs to be ?1.4m above our turnover for the two years thereafter.

 

I'm still happy to pay and delighted that we're seeing progress but I can't quite get my head around the figures.

[Hagar the Horrible]

 

Are people forgetting that when Bidco take over which could be in a 6-8 period Hearts have no money to speak of. If all our pledges in the bank go towards paying the loan back how do we run the club? Also it will be nice for once to have our ST money for next year actually used for next year and not ploughed into this season.

This plan and financial model that AB has worked out sounds very good to me. No more leaving ourselves short of cash if something unexpected happens and most importantly paying our bills and on time as well. All this within the sort of time scales spoken about previously. Also once the loans are paid back we can then review our pledges and decide if we continue or adopt another use for them, those that don't want to continue indefinitely pledging can withdraw and continue with the normal methods of support.

 

All the money we have rasied so far will go into cash flow as will donations over the next 2 years, we need to pay Ann back her money after that over a period of time, but easily manageable, Ann is taking a risk but if the FoH fails then she just need to either sell up or float on the stock exchange, she wont lose, and I don't think she is in this to make a profit, just find stability. Its down to us to make FoH work, the whole country will be watching

[Hagar the Horrible]

 

I'm a little torn on this.

 

I don't quite understand why the club needs an additional ?1.4m above our turnover per year given how much we've had to cut our cloth during the admin process.

 

Obviously our turnover is going to reduce next year due to being in The Championship but I can't see why our costs should be so much higher thereafter that we can't live within our means.

 

We've been chasing our tail for a couple of years with early season tickets and I can understand the additional ?1m up front working capital to see us into next season but I really don't see why our expnediture needs to be ?1.4m above our turnover for the two years thereafter.

 

I'm still happy to pay and delighted that we're seeing progress but I can't quite get my head around the figures.

 

Season ticket money will finance the club, Donations will be used to invest in the club (new stand) etc initial cash flow, Rangers used to do this will pools money to build Ibrox, we should do the same with donations eventually

[doctor jambo]

It's about stabilising the club's finances, eliminating the budget deficit and getting some cash reserves together. It's a worst-case plan and all the excess FoH annual capital goes towards the repayments.

 

If you think AB is going to start throwing around daft cash on playing budgets you are absolutely barking.

 

The finances ARE stable- we are currently running at a profit. We also have no debt. I would be averse to using fan cash to increase our outgoings for whatever reasons. I'd rather we tightened up and functioned properly ASAP.

Two years to be entirely fan owned was fine

5 years not so much.

You are now talking of using pledges that were to BUY the club, now being used for other things

[7ANTHEA6]

If this lady is willing to give us this tremendous gift and her time and expertise for virtually free then I for one am immensely grateful to her 2.5m pounds up front with no repayment for at lest 2yrs and only asking for the banks standard interest rates that anyone of us receives as opposed to the interest rates for an actual loan of that amout at their usual lending rate is just brilliant .

In regards to the DD being for life when I set my pledge up that's exactly what I expected it to be for life .

We now own a football club and not just any club but our club and hopefully 100yrs from now our fans not yet even born will look back and thank us for what we are all doing now saving the life of our beloved club .

Many other clubs have died before us in exactly the same situation that we have been in so let's try to remember how big a deal this is and the rebuilding job is already started .

I for one feel that we will be back were we belong very very soon .

[Francis Albert]

Here is what the current FoH website says our DDs will be used for.

1, the financing of the purchase of the majority shareholding in HoMplc

2. other legitimate purposes/projects, subject to board and membership approval, which will assist in ensuring the financial stability and/or the betterment of the football

club.

 

I have no problem with this. Now when do we get to approve the spending of ?3.8m before a penny is spent on purchasing any shareholding? I am happy to approve but a tiny bit more detail on the purposes/projects would be in order I think.

Edited February 14, 2014 by Francis Albert

[Don Dan]

 

 

 

 

All the money we have rasied so far will go into cash flow as will donations over the next 2 years, we need to pay Ann back her money after that over a period of time, but easily manageable, Ann is taking a risk but if the FoH fails then she just need to either sell up or float on the stock exchange, she wont lose, and I don't think she is in this to make a profit, just find stability. Its down to us to make FoH work, the whole country will be watching

 

That's right, this two years of ?1.4m per year will set us up nicely then followed by pay back to AB then it's over to us. I think a lot of posters haven't grasped that yet. It's good sound financial planning.

[fatjambo]

I have pledged since day 1 and will do till my dying day,our club will survive,HHGH.

[redm]

The finances ARE stable- we are currently running at a profit. We also have no debt. I would be averse to using fan cash to increase our outgoings for whatever reasons. I'd rather we tightened up and functioned properly ASAP.

Two years to be entirely fan owned was fine

5 years not so much.

You are now talking of using pledges that were to BUY the club, now being used for other things

 

We have a funding gap which will become an issue in a matter of weeks.

We have football debt that needs to be paid.

We need cash reserves because we need to make sure we're never caught short by cash flow difficuties again - or at least for a very long time.

 

Aside from that we have a club which is barely functioning.

 

We had a go at previous owners and their people for adopting a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of approach, this is a carefully considered worst case scenario approach which will keep us safe.

[Don Dan]

 

 

 

The finances ARE stable- we are currently running at a profit. We also have no debt. I would be averse to using fan cash to increase our outgoings for whatever reasons. I'd rather we tightened up and functioned properly ASAP.

Two years to be entirely fan owned was fine

5 years not so much.

You are now talking of using pledges that were to BUY the club, now being used for other things

 

BDO Bryan Jackson says we may run out of money in April. I think people have forgotten that.

Your point about pledges buying the club are correct however the use of pledges is part of the stabilisation of the club in this initial period which could be read as purchasing the club and setting up a good foundation to proceed to ultimate buy out.

[I.T.K]

1. Absolutely, I think the 5 year plan is sound and will continue to honour my pledges for the duration of that period (providing I can financially). I don't share the reservations of others about the two years before repayment as the club is in such financial strife. I'd rather we were given a realistic timetable rather than a promise of everything will be rosy in two years time.

2. I signed up to save the club and turn it to fan ownership where no individual can use it as a play thing, this will hopefully be achieved in 5 years time. Beyond that I don't see why I should pay an additional monthly fee for the sake of it and will need to be persuaded to do so.

 

Of those that are happy to pay a DD for life after the club is fan owned and self sustainable, what is the primary motivation?

 

Good stuff. I agree the details of the 'legal bond' will be important.

 

My primary motivation to 'pledge for life' is as a non season ticket holder (due to location) is I want to do something for the club I love. I want to be involved some how!

 

I agree with you that getting your season ticket comes first. Between your season ticket money, and my pledge for life Hearts should be good shape.

 

I also feel that football clubs need some investment from owners and if Hearts are fan owned then we need to supply the extra.

 

It will be interesting to see what initiatives will be set up to keep season tickets holders interested in pledging.

[MoncurMacdonaldMercer]

Thanks Ann.

 

For me I'm happy to contribute for as long as it takes to achieve the following:

 

1. Save club

2. Return to top division

3. Build new stand to replace main stand

 

At the end of this, with the club debt-free, it should be easy for the club to run within its means and be inthe top 2/3.

 

Longer term, I think we should look to have a membership scheme at say ?50 a year and try and encourage 20000 members.

 

Members would be entered for draws for tickets etc.

 

 

that's how i see it too

[altyjambo]

I'm a little torn on this.

 

I don't quite understand why the club needs an additional ?1.4m above our turnover per year given how much we've had to cut our cloth during the admin process.

 

Obviously our turnover is going to reduce next year due to being in The Championship but I can't see why our costs should be so much higher thereafter that we can't live within our means.

 

We've been chasing our tail for a couple of years with early season tickets and I can understand the additional ?1m up front working capital to see us into next season but I really don't see why our expnediture needs to be ?1.4m above our turnover for the two years thereafter.

 

I'm still happy to pay and delighted that we're seeing progress but I can't quite get my head around the figures.

 

I think there's a need to build up a reserve of cash and goodwill with suppliers. Don't forget that all of our everyday suppliers will have been burned in some way by Hearts. The chances of us getting credit for anything in the short to medium term are slim, so we have to pay cash for everything, I think some posters on here are equating the need for cash as being a sign that we're running at a loss or blowing money on unnecessary things. There are many hugely profitable businesses with no cash, and vice versa. If a company is growing, it needs to build up stock to sell and so on, and it's cash balance drops despite being bigger and better. We've had every drop of cash sucked out of us, and are still only living hand to mouth with BDO. The need to grow (and the cost of that in terms of a cash injection) are vital, not to go on a mad dash for glory, but to survive as a sustainable club in the future.

 

There's two possible structures (and I think FOH could have "spun" this better) - one is that every penny raised goes straight to AB and that we are left with a shell of a company and club with no spare cash and possibly in danger of falling over again (but it's ours), or she agrees to defer payment for 3-5 years to allow a better funded company to be transferred. The possible downside is we fund a company that we don't own for a few years... so it's down to each individual as to whether they are comfortable with that. If not, there's a clear route to start or stop paying as/when you wish. It'll be interesting as to who is deemed to be an owner after the transaction completes - those who paid in years 4 and 5? those who paid in all years? those who continue to pay in year 6? Lots to decide, but the future is still better than the immediate past...

[Schevchenko]

Song for Ann Budge required I reckon, chirpy, chirpy, cheep cheep? I'm not good at making up the verses i'll let someone elese come up with that.

[Allowayjambo1874]

I am a little disappointed and confused with this news.

 

Was under the impression that there were 2 separate issues as and when we came out of CVA.

 

Ownership of club, which was being sorted out with the BIDCO-FANCO agreement through FOH and Hearts as a business, which I believed was going to be done as a stand alone business working model and would have to be run along the lines of we can only spend what we take in, end off. The lines have now become blurred and it's one big pot with extended timelines.

 

In no way do I think anyone is deliberately misleading things or trying to make any kind of fast buck, and Ann Budge from the bottom of my Heart I thank you, however I just thought things would be sorted out and straight forward and in 3 years the club would be in the hands of the fans.

 

In saying all that I have no idea what extra expense is required or what plans are in place/required re Tynecastle, but it should be pointed out that with the exception of sevco the biggest player budget in the championship will be around ?1.5m at the very most and even if season tickets are ?300 a pop we will out strip that significantly so player wages are a bit of a red herring.

[Jambo, Goodbye]

Song for Ann Budge required I reckon, chirpy, chirpy, cheep cheep? I'm not good at making up the verses i'll let someone elese come up with that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZThquH5t0ow&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Justaguest]

...

I signed up to save the club and turn it to fan ownership where no individual can use it as a play thing, this will hopefully be achieved in 5 years time. Beyond that I don't see why I should pay an additional monthly fee for the sake of it and will need to be persuaded to do so.

 

Of those that are happy to pay a DD for life after the club is fan owned and self sustainable, what is the primary motivation?

 

It's still unknown, how all this fan ownership will work, as FOH statute is not yet finished (or published). But if one assumes that the whole thing will work like on the continent, and that basic democratic principles (one member one vote) will be applied, the primary motivation would be that you remain a fan which owns your club, with your voice having an equal "worth" as anyone else's. As in:

The club is fan-owned, but the fans that own it are the ones who pay the membership fee/pledge in the current year/season. You don't want to pay it any more, you are not one of the fans that own the club and have a voting right (that's how it works on the continent). Barcelona has millions of fans, but the ones who cast votes in elections or AGMs are some 100,000 of them who actually pay annual membership fee. (I'm guessing here that regardless of how much you pledged in the past, if you are not pledging anymore, you are not co-owner any more, that's how it works elsewhere).

 

In my opinion, there should be changes when the purchase of the club is completed, or even sooner. The fix amount of pledge would be fair, and the amount could (better: should) be 10 pounds or better less, let's say 5 pounds per month (60 pounds per year). There should be several discounts for the fan-owners (as they are elsewhere). I wonder if in the future loyalty points will be abolished, as the fan-owners are the ones which the club "serves", the owners get tickets first, and then anyone else, if there's anything left (as it's done on the continent).

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

I have no issue pledging for life but that is because I can. I would hope, though, that the inherent need to scrutinise FoH for our pledges will be handled appropriately.

[Jammy T]

To be fair, I don't think any of us (including us that are slightly more sceptical or inquisitive) are against pumping extea money into the club for 5 years to repay BIDCO and get us on a sound financial footing.

 

Beyond that, you are essentially asking people to stump up a minimum of ?120 per year on top of their usual season tickets and match tickets. That's a massive premium compared to comparable supporters at other clubs for what is a poor product. That's why I come back to any ongoing pledges after five years being put towards some extraordinary use, such as a stand/stadium improvements.

 

Then people dont understand the concept of a fan owned club

 

As far as I see it I will continue to make these payments to the club as long as it exists or as long as I am alive.

 

Thats the whole point.

 

This isnt just a rescue package, this is an additional layer of income that I am prepared to provide to my club in order that it never gets into this position again

 

Did fans actually think the DDs were just to pay off the debt?