Bloom set for £10m Hearts stake after vote approval
Tony Bloom is set to take up a 29% stake in Hearts after the club's majority shareholder group voted in favour of the Brighton & Hove Albion owner's £10m investment offer.
The Foundation of Hearts say from a total of 6,208 votes - which represented a 70% turnout - 6,112 voted in favour and 96 voted against. Bloom needed approval of more than 50% for his offer to be accepted.
"Clearly it is a huge majority in favour and this demonstrates - once again - the passion the foundation members have for the club and their determination to see it move forward and reap the benefits of the financial investment," the group said in a statement.
Brighton owner Bloom bids for 29% stake in Hearts
Visit our Hearts page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views
Get Hearts news notifications in the BBC Sport app
"Tony Bloom's decision to invest in Hearts was very much founded on the many benefits he saw at Tynecastle through the club being in fan ownership, not least its financial security through the level of our pledging."
Bloom will be purchasing non-voting rights shares, which would not impact the 75.1% voting rights held by the Foundation of Hearts but he will be entitled to one place on the board and is expected to appoint a representative rather than take up the position himself.
FoH had said Bloom believes Hearts can "disrupt Scottish football" and that he wants to be a part of a "glorious chapter" in the Edinburgh club's history.
Hearts finished season 2024-25 seventh in the Scottish Premiership and have appointed Derek McInnes as their new manager.
The club has a formal relationship with Bloom's company Jamestown Analytics for recruitment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tonight's EuroMillions jackpot would be a UK record – but what are the previous biggest wins?
A single EuroMillions ticket-holder stands to become the UK's biggest-ever lottery winner on Tuesday, with an estimated jackpot of £199 million. According to National Lottery operator Allwyn, this would be the largest prize ever seen in the UK. Here's a look at the 10 biggest UK lottery wins to date, all from EuroMillions draws, and what some of the winners did with their fortunes. A UK ticket holder scooped a EuroMillions jackpot of £195 million on July 19 2022. Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, scooped a then record-breaking £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket for the draw on May 10 2022. At the time, Joe was a communications sales engineer, and Jess ran a hairdressing salon with her sister. A UK ticket holder became the third biggest National Lottery winner of all time after receiving a £177 million jackpot. The single ticket holder, who chose to remain anonymous, came forward to claim the EuroMillions jackpot after the draw on November 26 2024. The winner became immediately wealthier than popstar Dua Lipa, who is worth an estimated £104 million, and Michael Buble, worth around £63 million. A UK ticket holder scooped £171,815,297.80 in the September 23 2022 draw – at the time the country's third biggest National Lottery win. The fifth biggest winner of the National Lottery to date scooped £170 million in 2019 after matching all the numbers in a Must Be Won draw on October 8. Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs, North Ayrshire, bagged their historic winnings on July 12 2011, making them the biggest UK winners at the time. Colin used £2.5 million of his fortune to invest in his beloved Partick Thistle Football Club, which led to one of the stands at the stadium being named after him. He later acquired a 55% shareholding in the club, which was to be passed into the hands of the local community upon his death. He died in December 2019, aged 71. The couple also set up the Weir Charitable Trust in 2013 and donated £1 million to the Scottish independence referendum in 2014. They divorced in the same year of Colin's death. Adrian and Gillian won 190 million euros in a EuroMillions draw on August 10, 2012, which came to just over £148 million. The couple bought a Grade II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with cinema and billiards room, but it was sold in 2021, some years after the pair divorced. The seventh biggest National Lottery winner won a Superdraw rollover jackpot on June 11 2019, and decided not to go public with their success. After nine rollovers, one lucky anonymous ticket holder bagged more than £122 million in April 2021. Another of the UK's top 10 lottery winners found their fortune through a Superdraw jackpot rollover, this time in April 2018.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Oil industry could see job cuts like Grangemouth every fortnight, report warns
The number of jobs in the UK oil and gas sector could plunge to just 57,000 in the next few years, with a report warning there could be the equivalent of 400 cut every fortnight. That level of job losses would be the same as the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery every two weeks, according to research by Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University. It said in 'low-case scenarios', where the UK makes 'slower progress' as the country transitions towards renewable energy, jobs in the oil and gas workforce would drop from 115,000 at present to 'as low as 57,000 by the early 2030s'. The report added this would be a 'reduction of around 400 jobs – equivalent to the closure of the Grangemouth refinery – every two weeks'. With almost one in 30 Scottish workers currently employed in either the offshore energy sector, or an industry which supports it – compared to one in 220 across the UK – it highlighted how the 'potential risks for Scotland's supply chain and workforce are substantial'. Figures for 2024 show there were 154,000 people employed in the offshore energy sector – with 75% in the oil and gas sector and the remaining 25% in renewables. The Striking The Balance report noted the production of oil is now down by 'almost 75% from its peak' in 1999-2000, when it produced the equivalent of 4.5 million barrels of oil per day. This has now dropped to 1.09 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, with the report noting that without new licences being granted 'the oil and gas industry is forecast to decline by around 95% by 2050 from 2024 levels'. The report said: 'Depending on which scenario will play out, the direct and indirect UK oil and gas workforce is expected to fall from 115,000 to between 57,000 and 71,000 by the early 2030s, with further declines to between 33,000 and 48,000 by 2035.' SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn challenged Westminster to act in the wake of the report. He said: 'The independent expert advice is clear, we will see a Grangemouth scale of job losses each and every fortnight if the UK Government does not shift from its misguided position and protect the energy industry of today, so that the workforce can use their skills and expertise to develop the net zero industries of tomorrow. 'The opportunities of net zero are enormous but they will not be realised if the Labour Government continues with its current fiscal regime that deters stability, confidence and investment in existing industries and we therefore lose our best people, and world-class supply chain, to nations elsewhere.' Scottish Conservative energy spokesman and North East Scotland MSP Douglas Lumsden insisted however that both the Scottish and UK governments need to change their approach. He said the 'alarming' report 'lays bare the economic vandalism caused by both Labour and the SNP's opposition to oil and gas'. He added: 'John Swinney and Keir Starmer have disgracefully sat back while jobs continue to be lost throughout the sector as both remain totally oblivious to the fact that renewables alone can't yet satisfy our energy needs.' Pressed on the issue in Holyrood, Scottish climate action minister Alasdair Allan vowed ministers will 'learn' from the report, saying: 'We hope the UK Government will too.' While some areas regarding energy are devolved to Holyrood, he added that others are reserved to Westminster and 'we must get helpful decisions from the UK Government'. He said the UK Government could provide a 'full funding package' for the Acorn carbon capture and storage project in Aberdeenshire in next week's comprehensive spending review. A spokesperson for the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'We have taken rapid steps to deliver the next generation of good jobs for North Sea workers in a fair and orderly transition as part of our Plan for Change, including by making the biggest investment in offshore wind and two first-of-a-kind carbon capture storage clusters. 'This comes alongside Great British Energy, headquartered in Aberdeen, which has already announced a £300 million investment into British supply chains, unlocking significant investment and helping to create thousands of skilled jobs Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Calls for delayed West Lothian train station to be funded by Scottish Government
A veteran councillor in West Lothian called on the Scottish Government to 'put its money where its mouth is' on plans for a railway station in Winchburgh. As the council and Winchburgh Developments prepare to meet potential funders of the long delayed station , Labour's Linlithgow councillor Tom Conn called on the SNP government to 'stop ducking and diving.' Designs were revealed on Friday with the news that a planning application would come to West Lothian Council 'imminently.' READ MORE: Two major roads through Bathgate will see upgrades and resurfacing work A report to the Executive described the recently published Scottish Government Programme for Government 2025/26. It said: 'The programme makes specific reference to a railway station at Winchburgh in the section on A Safe Sustainable Transport System for Scotland.' Having committed to that, Councillor Conn called for a commitment to meet costs of the £22.5m development. Welcoming the news that progression had been made in the ten months of cooperation between the council, Winchburgh developments, Transport Scotland Network Rail - councillors echoed concerns that there have been no concrete guarantees of funding. Councillor Conn said: 'There needs to be public money invested directly by Scottish Government in Winchburgh. They cannot continually suggest it's other people, other organisations that need to find the money. 'This is an abdication of responsibility by the Scottish Government. If they don't want to take responsibility for it, they shouldn't put it in Programme for Government 2025/26. 'The Scottish government needs to stop ducking and diving and need to put their money where their mouth is. This is talking about rail investment strategy. If all it is is words, not backed up with cash, stop speaking. It's not helping.' Fellow Linlithgow councillor Sally Pattle said the progress had been like wading through treacle as she sought clarification of when a business plan could come to the council. When told it would be two to three months she responded: 'I would just like to welcome the fact that the Scottish Government reference Winchburgh in their programme for government although I'm slightly unclear as to what that will mean in practical terms to actually getting this project moving forward. 'I do welcome all the work that has been undertaken collaboratively between key stakeholders since last September but I have to say that still feels like we are moving through treacle. I would also very much like it to be recognised by officers and key stakeholders that the longer this drags on the greater the negative impact it is having on my ward of Linlithgow because of all the commuters that come into use the train station and then park anti-socially across the town to do so so it would be good if that could recognised going forward.' The report detailed passenger usage at neighbouring stations, including Linlithgow which sees 1,400 a day using the station. Gordon Brown, Roads and Transportation Manager told the meeting: 'Progress on the Outline Business Case now allows the steering group to progress discussions with the Scottish Government on the case for investment, alignment with the overall rail strategy, public value and contribution to government priorities. 'These matters will be addressed as part of the funding application subject, of course, to the City Region Deal Joint Committee supporting an application via that route.' The City Region Deal is a mechanism for accelerating growth. It is made up of six local authorities, universities and the private sector working with the Scottish and UK government to pull in investment.' Winchburgh councillor Angela Doran-Timson pressed Mr Brown on what other alternative investment options there would be if the City Region Deal did not agree to fund the station. ' Was there a plan B?" she asked. Mr Brown said there was ' no plan B' but to date 'no alternative funding sources had been identified' Councillor Doran-Timson said: 'I'll echo what Tom Conn said. I welcome the report, fingers crossed that the funding does come forward from the Scottish Government." A spokesperson for Transport Scotland responded by issuing a joint statement issued on behalf of West Lothian Council, Winchburgh Developments Ltd, Transport Scotland, Network Rail and ScotRail which said: 'Further work continues to explore opportunities for innovative construction techniques to support efficient and low-disruption delivery. 'A stakeholder meeting with Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie MSP, is scheduled to take place in Winchburgh on 18 June. This will offer the minister the opportunity to see first-hand the progress made by the project partners.' That same statement contained comments from council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick: 'It's extremely encouraging to see this project continuing to move forward at pace. With the planning application submitted and business case prepared, we're entering an important phase, which reflects the positive collaboration between all parties." Sign up to Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
