Robinson paid £30k for losing Hearts job

CHRIS Robinson, the former Hearts chief executive, received a £30,000 compensation payment from the club for "loss of office" during the first half of 2005, it has been revealed.

Robinson, whose total earnings from Hearts for the financial year ending 31 July 2005 amounted to £139,100, announced his intentions to resign in February, but did not depart the club until five months later. His annual remuneration from Hearts, including compensation, was some £8,000 higher than for the previous 12 months, despite a failed attempt to sell Tynecastle for housing development, a project which ultimately cost the club £351,000.

Since July, the former catering chief has returned to the Hearts fold as a paid consultant for Vladimir Romanov as he seeks to extend Tynecastle stadium, despite earlier claims to the contrary, and has even attended meetings with representatives of the City of Edinburgh Council.

He has also been a regular fixture in the directors' box at Hearts matches throughout this season, fuelling fears from worried supporters, who earlier protested for his removal, that he maintains an influence on club policy.

Robinson received almost £870,000 for his shareholding in Hearts from Romanov. Phil Anderton, who was sacked from his position as chief executive in October, earned a total of £70,500 from the club between his appointment in March and 31 July but, unlike Robinson and finance director Stewart Fraser, this did not include contributions to a pension fund, according to the club's accounts.

It seems apparent that Robinson's settlement was agreed without consultation with or the knowledge of Anderton, who yesterday asked: "What compensation payment?" when made aware of the £30,000 figure by The Scotsman.

The former chief executive of the Scottish Rugby Union is yet to be offered any form of pay-off from Hearts, despite the club reportedly admitting they had no grounds to sack him, and it is understood that he will go public with his revelations regarding the controversial Romanov regime if his severance is not resolved by mid-January.

He is seeking £112,000, eight months' wages, after his employment was terminated two months before the end of a nine-month period during which neither party was permitted to break Anderton's contract, worth just under £170,000 per year.

"The service contract of P Anderton (subsequently terminated) is dated 3 March 2005 and provides for a notice period of six months by either party," stated the club's annual report.

Fraser, who plans to leave Tynecastle in the near future, also saw an increase to his salary and benefits package, which totalled £71,300.

New figures also show that Hearts' annual interest payments relating to bank overdrafts and loans now total £1.1million, an increase of £200,000 from 2004. The club's debt was last recorded at £21.5 million, and although he is on course to revert Hearts to a private company on 19 January, Romanov is yet to reveal just how he plans to reduce the debt and, accordingly, interest payments which are increasing at a steady rate.

Fraser has already intimated that the club will require an extra £4 million of working capital before next July, and £2.3 million of short-term loans are repayable to Lithuanian firm UBIG on or before 31 January. Edinburgh solicitors Brodies, who through their representative Iain Young were previously advisers to the Romanovs, are now listed as joint legal advisers to Hearts, along with Henderson Boyd Jackson.

Hearts plan to begin work on the rebuilding of Tynecastle next May, but are yet to reach agreement with the council over the purchase of their adult education centre on McLeod Street, and have also failed to offer former chairman Wallace Mercer a formal deal on his office space, currently used by the club, which the Edinburgh businessman has frequently said is available to the club at market rate.

Neither Romanov nor his son, Roman, attended Monday's home victory over Falkirk, but the club hope to announce the identity of their new director of football next month.

Taken from the Scotsman