Edinburgh Inquirer Article

Football is part and parcel of life in Scotland’s Capital. Professional sport as tribal rivalry with two big clubs sharing the city, it drives at least one (and occasionally two) weekly major events attracting 15,000-20,000 people, which in turn creates the footfall on which a multitude of local businesses depend.

And it’s more – both Hibs and Hearts are enormous city brands, but they are community assets with respected charitable foundations who work across a multitude of areas – including mental wellbeing, dementia, food poverty, and assisting refugees - to improve the lives of supporters and residents.

But… when all is said and done, for those who flock to matchdays it is still - and will always be - all about the beautiful game.

So, when Hibs shareholders meet this week to discuss and – almost certainly - agree the deal which will see the US-based billionaire Bill Foley’s Black Knights group take a 25% stake in the Club alongside majority shareholders the Gordon family, club chief executive Ben Kensell will feel contentment at a milestone reached.

Because while this deal will help the Club in all areas of its activity, the focus – without any doubt – is firmly on delivering football success. And to do that, the Club must compete with rivals Hearts reaping the benefit of £6m per year in donations – including more than £4m in each of the past three seasons from benefactor and investment fund wizard James Anderson, plus £1.5 million a season that continues to pour in from fans through the Foundation of Hearts.

That’s money over and above what the club can generate from its sporting and commercial efforts, and presents a financial and sporting challenge to both Hibs and Aberdeen.

Securing Foley’s investment is something of a coup for Hibs. The former US air force officer - who reportedly made $40,000 investing in the stock market in his spare time while training at West Point - is seen as one of the more astute sports investors in North America. And one of its more demanding. “I believe if you tolerate mediocrity, your business is going to be mediocre,” he once told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I don’t tolerate it.”

With a net worth estimated by Forbes at £1.6bn, the Texas-born owner of English Premier League Bournemouth and the successful Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team is big league.

Hibs’ Chief Executive, who has been instrumental in sourcing and securing the deal, will look back on the process with both satisfaction and regret. Satisfaction at landing an agreement he believes will be transformational for the club. But more than a little regret that Ron Gordon, the charismatic Chairman of the club who passed away almost exactly a year ago, won’t be there to share the moment.

The man who persuaded Kensell to leave Norwich and head north to help him build commercial prosperity in order to deliver sporting success at Easter Road died after a battle with cancer on February 20th in the US last year. The timing is not lost on the Chief Executive.

“Ron often spoke about the importance of partnerships in building successful organisations. It was something he did in his own businesses, and it was something he was keen to do at Hibs. We spoke pretty much daily, and Ron spoke of it often, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be looking down with approval.”