Hearts in profit thanks to donations of £3.25m from unnamed benefactors

Hearts have made a post-tax profit of almost £3 million as a result of donations from unnamed benefactors.

Hearts owner Ann Budge is pleased with the club's latest financial figures.

The club received £1m for player costs and an “exceptional donation” of £2.25m to record a proft of £2.9m after tax for last season. Hearts also received £3m in donations in the previous financial year.

A club statement read: “From a financial perspective we have once again achieved our major objective which was to grow our revenues profitably.

“In particular, our turnover increased by over 20 per cent from £12.1m to £15.1m. This resulted partly from growth in our commercial income, aided by the new facilities in our main stand, and as a result of our successes in both the League and Scottish Cups.”

Staff costs rose from £7m to £8.2m while operating costs also increased to £6.5m. Owner Ann Budge said: “During the year, we received an exceptional £1m donation towards player costs from our benefactors, which allowed us to increase our playing budget for the year.”

Hearts made £500,000 from the sale of players, mostly from Kyle Lafferty’s ill-fated move to Rangers.

The Tynecastle club’s search for a new manager is ongoing, with Neil McCann, Stuart McCall, Jack Ross and Steve Cotterill all having been interviewed for the job.