McGrail bids to buy out Robinson 

GRAHAM BEAN 

ROBERT McGrail was emerging last night as the only serious opposition to Chris Robinson’s plan to sell Tynecastle and move Hearts to Murrayfield.

The club is already in talks with Cala Homes to sell the ground for housing, but McGrail confirmed yesterday his willingness to buy Robinson’s 19.6 per cent stake and will now seek a meeting with the Hearts chief executive.

The Edinburgh property expert is confident he could fund such a deal, describing the amounts involved as "pocket money". Based on Hearts’ share price, Robinson’s stake in the club was valued yesterday at just £433,434. However, the chief executive paid far more than that when he bought control of Hearts jointly with Leslie Deans in 1994, and he will be seeking to recoup a significantly bigger sum than the current value if he decides to sell.

McGrail, who already owns a ten per cent stake in Hearts, first raised the prospect of buying out Robinson at a public debate on the club’s future in an Edinburgh hotel on Tuesday when he asked the chief executive to give him a price for his shares. Robinson said he would be prepared to meet McGrail to discuss the matter in private.

If any bid is to succeed it would have to be lucrative enough to persuade Robinson to step down as chief executive at Tynecastle, a post that brings with it a six-figure salary and a company car. McGrail has made it clear that Robinson’s removal is a condition of any deal.

"I made a very public offer and if Chris is for selling I would be interested in buying, subject to price and Chris moving on," McGrail said. "So if he wants to discuss a price I would be amenable."

Asked what he would be prepared to pay for Robinson’s stake in Hearts, McGrail replied: "That would be telling." But he claimed that financing any deal would not be a problem. "To be honest, buying Chris’s shares is pocket money compared to buying the stadium," he said.

McGrail offered last month to buy Tynecastle and lease it back to Hearts, but accepts this bid is now doomed. His offer is pitched at between £8million and £10million, but the club believe they can get far more if they sell for housing.

It remains to be seen whether McGrail’s latest bid to wrest control of the club from Robinson will be any more successful, but what is certain is that there will have to be some serious haggling if a deal is to be done.

"Chris knows I have the interest and the ability to buy his shares. It now depends on the price," McGrail said. "At the moment the shares are worth 17p, but if he was to expect around 60p for shares in an insolvent company then it is not on. But in terms of ability and desire, there is not an issue there. 

‘Chris’s strength is also his weakness and his stubbornness is dragging Hearts down’ - ROBERT McGRAIL

"A lot depends on whether Chris would sell, and at what price. He seems determined to push on and move the club to Murrayfield and obviously feels Hearts can be viable there."

McGrail, who insists he has no desire to succeed Robinson as chief executive, added: "Chris is obviously under a lot of pressure because he has failed to win the hearts and minds of the fans. He says no-one has come out with a viable alternative to Murrayfield, yet in the course of Tuesday evening he heard about my idea to buy Tynecastle and lease it back to the club, the suggestion of a share issue and a plan to complete the building of Tynecastle using a debenture scheme, something which has been used to build stadiums throughout the country."

Robinson is notoriously stubborn and McGrail is aware that trying to remove him from office will be a tough task. The chief executive withstood sporadic verbal attacks from angry fans at Tuesday’s meeting, where the mood was overwhelmingly opposed to a move to Murrayfield.

"Chris is manfully trying to soldier on and unfortunately he is unable to recognise when he is beaten," McGrail said. "Chris’s strength is also his weakness and his stubbornness is dragging Hearts down."

Nevertheless, Robinson is expected to be able to rely upon his allies to push through a move to Murrayfield at an extraordinary general meeting within the next three months. With the media company SMG and Bank of Scotland both likely to support him, the board will have a block vote of 51.4 per cent.

Hearts are £17.6million in debt and Robinson claims the club will go into administration if they do not sell their home in Gorgie and ground-share with the Scottish Rugby Union.

McGrail, who has also held talks with SMG about its 19.9 per cent stake in Hearts, appears to be the only alternative left to the Murrayfield flit. Leslie Deans, the former chairman, had a £10million offer of investment turned down by Hearts 18 months ago and the offer is no longer on the table.

While it’s hard to be anything but sceptical about Robinson’s willingness to sell to McGrail, the chief executive did state publicly that he was prepared to discuss the offer.

"I’m always happy to sit down with anyone who has Hearts’ best interest at heart," said Robinson. "But I will not do it in a public arena and I will not do it through the newspapers. I’ve had discussions with Robert before and I’d warn people not to hold out too much hope."

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