Hearts Report Financial Loss Following Absence of European Group Stage Football

Hearts has announced a financial loss for the year ending on 30 June. The club finished third in last season’s Scottish Premiership. The club’s overall losses amounted to £4.4m, comprising a £1.2m loss from “ordinary activities” and £3m attributed to “depreciation and other amounts written off tangible and intangible fixed assets.” Despite “the absence of group stage European football,” the club noted that “commercial, sponsorship and advertising revenues [are] all up” and reported that its reduced turnover surpassed £20m for the second consecutive year. Staff expenditures increased by £1.1m, reaching a total of £16.4m. Net assets were recorded at £20m, a decrease from £24m. The club’s loans and overdrafts collectively exceeded £3.4m. Following the close of the accounting period, a £7m loan was obtained to settle the majority of this £3.4m debt, with repayment scheduled over a decade. In contrast to the prior accounting period, Hearts did not participate in European group stage football, having concluded the 2022-23 Scottish Premiership season in fourth place. Nevertheless, the team is competing in the Conference League’s new league phase this season, a result of their third-placed finish last term and subsequent loss in the Europa League play-off against Viktoria Plzen. The financial outcomes of this ongoing European campaign will be reflected in the subsequent year’s accounts. In September, Hearts dismissed head coach Steven Naismith following a sequence of eight consecutive defeats, with Neil Critchley subsequently appointed in mid-October. Under the guidance of interim boss Liam Fox and then Critchley, the team’s performance has improved, moving them away from the bottom of the Premiership standings and securing two victories from two matches in the Conference League. Critchley’s squad is scheduled to host German club Heidenheim in their third Conference League match on Thursday at 20:00 GMT. Additionally, Hearts will play their final fixture before the November international break on Sunday at 17:00, facing Premiership rivals Rangers away.