Hearts prepare for newco route
While a stream of positive soundbites flow out of Tynecastle it’s highly unlikely that a CVA will be approved by 75% of debtors.
The bulk of the club’s £25m debt is owed to UBIG and Ukio Bankas who are unlikely to approve a pennies in the pounds deal when they have security over Tynecastle.
As a housing development or renting the stadium to a football club Tynecastle is a prized asset forcing BDO to consider what options to take if a CVA falls through.
Last year Rangers newco were given the red carpet treatment by the SFA as they were welcomed into the SFL without any of the conditions applied to clubs like Annan Athletic and Peterhead.
Looking at that option Bitch said: “If we cannot get the shares (from UBIG) then we have to start thinking: ‘is there another way of doing it?
“That might mean, of course, the Rangers way. They set up a newco because they could not do a CVA because of HMRC But that took them out of the league, so there is a precedent there.
“You try and avoid that at all costs, whether the SPFL and the SFA would treat us the same way, I don’t know.”
Having set a precedent last summer it would be difficult for the SFA to do anything other than gift Hearts newco a place in the SPFL.
Should the Gorgie mob agree a friendly sale of Tynecastle it will open the door to other heavily indebted clubs like Kilmarnock and Aberdeen to take the newco route by ditching their debt and starting up afresh.
With the help and support of the SFA a three or four year exile from the top flight will become more and more attractive than attempting to service multi million pound debt repayments.