Revealed: Another EPL owner eyeing up multi-million pound investment in Scottish football club

First Bill Foley at Hibs. Then Tony Bloom at Hearts. Now a third English Premier League chairman could be lining up a potential multi-million pound investment in another Scottish football club.

In January this year, the Scottish Football Association approved a request from Hibs for a dual interest dispensation, allowing Foley and his Black Knights operation to become a minority investor in the club.

The American billionaire, who is the owner of EPL side Bournemouth and has a minority stake in French club Lorient, injected £6million into the Easter Road outfit in return for a 25 per cent stake.

Hibs say the cash injection will allow the club to fund developments at the stadium and training ground plus increase the first-team budget.

That deal paved the way for others to follow suit and Bloom, the billionaire betting entrepreneur and owner of Brighton, is investing £10m into Hearts and will have major influence over the club's future, including the ongoing search for a new manager following the sacking of Steven Naismith.

Thee proposed investment from Bloom will give Hearts access to top-level recruitment technology developed by his companies Starlizard and Jamestown Analytics. Tynecastle CEO Andrew McKinlay admitted that the deal Hearts are negotiating is “exciting”.

The influx of EPL money into Scottish football appears unlikely to end there.

Brentford owner Matthew Benham is weighing up a possible investment in a Scottish football club. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Scotsman understands that Brentford chairman Matthew Benham could be the next EPL owner to enter the SPFL market with the 56-year-old believed to be eyeing up potential investment opportunities north of the border.

Benham, who also made his money through the gambling industry, is a former business partner of Bloom, but the pair had an epic fall-out in the early 2000s due to a "dispute over the use of a proprietary betting model".

It is understood that, like his nemesis, Benham has a plan to move into Scottish football, which would undoubtedly shake things up even more while possibly giving Rangers and Celtic something to think about.

"It will be for the same reasons as Tony," someone with knowledge of both men's football activities told The Scotsman.