Life could be altogether different for Ann Budge. Rather than being riddled with the anxieties that befall any football club owner at the onset of a new season, Budge might have been revelling in semi-retirement. “I would probably be on my boat in the Mediterranean, relaxing, which is what I was doing for the three summers before I got involved here,” she says. “I miss it, we all like being on holiday, but for a few years I can quite happily get back into work mode.”
The “here” to which Budge refers is Tynecastle Park, home of Heart of Midlothian. An oceanic view has been swapped for a Sunday Scottish Premiership fixture against St Johnstone.
Earlier, on Friday lunchtime, the stadium is abuzz as every member of staff, from centre-backs to cleaners, gathers to eat together. The weekly ritual was introduced by Budge as she sought to mend morale at a broken club when taking ownership in June 2014. One of her other moves, and a high-profile one, was to introduce the national living wage. “A lot has been made of that but you have no idea how easy a decision is was,” Budge says. “It was not a big deal.
“One of the things I had been appalled at was when I looked at employment contracts. Some people in the club hadn’t had a salary review, of any description for seven or eight years. They were being paid peanuts. OK, the club was in financial difficulty, so you can’t throw money at people, but there is a level below which you are taking advantage.
“We fixed these things as early as we possibly could. The living wage was just a natural extension. I didn’t think it would attract quite as much interest as it did. That made me realise this wasn’t just a problem at Hearts, it was a problem in society.”
Save The Children will adorn Hearts’ strips this season. This link-up with the charity marks a full circle from the chaos that engulfed the regime of Vladimir Romanov, concluding in administration, but it also carries a danger. If portrayed as footballing paragons of virtue, surely Hearts be under severe pressure when an inevitable negative incident occurs.
“That was one of the biggest discussion points during the whole negotiation because clearly reputational damage to a football club is bad enough, to a charity like Save The Children it would be a big thing,” Budge acknowledges.
“So I did have to sit and think: ‘Am I taking on too much here?’ But I wasn’t. Things will go wrong, something will happen at some point. So long as we are trying to do the right thing and doing all we can to ensure there is no reputational damage? We can’t do any more.”
Hearts’ procession to the Scottish Championship title last season was matched only by the rapidity with which recognition towards the famous old Edinburgh club’s owner grew. Budge had amassed a reported £40m by selling an IT software company and attended Hearts matches with her daughter, all but anonymously.
Now Budge is one of Scottish society’s most recognisable figures and being lauded as a “guardian angel” by Sir Alex Ferguson. The self-confessed workaholic, at 67, retains boundless energy and rarely leaves work before 7pm. “I didn’t ever shirk publicity but I didn’t ever seek it,” Budge told the Observer. “We would issue the odd press release and that was it. The day I took over Hearts, the media were here in large numbers and I expected that. I thought: ‘OK, two-day wonder.’
“The public exposure happened quickly and I realised I couldn’t stop it. Well, I suppose I could have done but I didn’t think that was right. We needed as much positive publicity as we could get. Walking down the street when someone asks for a selfie takes a bit of getting used to. I don’t kid myself, because it has been such a terrific start, it is all positive. I haven’t had a single incident where someone has been negative and that’s not just Hearts supporters.
“As long as it’s positive, it is hard to complain but I do find it slightly awkward when you walk around Marks & Spencer and you hear the whisper: ‘That’s Ann Budge over there.’ You think: ‘Maybe I’ll come back and buy my underwear next week ... ’”
With a calm delivery that disguises illuminating sentiment, it did not take long for Budge to make a wider impression. As a female club owner, for a start, she stands alone in Scotland. Although it is not lost on Budge, she does not regard her gender as especially significant. “I don’t know if I am unusual but I have always said I had never come up against any kind of glass ceiling or prejudice. I think that’s because I have never actually looked for it,” she says.
“Computing was very male-dominated. You would come across individuals who were male chauvinists; I would just ignore it. They can be what they want to be. In football it is no different. I’m sure some people thought: ‘What’s she getting involved in football for? She doesn’t know anything about it, she is a woman.’ But that has never been obvious or upfront as a problem.”
Still, there is an acknowledgement that “softer” female interpersonal traits may be useful in such an ego-driven business as football. “And I apologise for the generalisation,” she adds.
Budge quickly identified flaws in the Scottish game, caused in part by what she regards as a “ridiculous” voting system and needlessly complex structure. “We have got a SPFL [the Scottish Professional Football League] and what keeps coming back is: ‘Of course, we are just taking instructions from the clubs.’ How can they really do the job without any power?” Budge asks. “I think it is very weird. Things like that need a fundamental rethink. We need a more powerful force at the centre.”
A summer season? “I have never yet come across a single person who said they wouldn’t want summer football. In that case, why have we not got it?”
The Hearts model is fascinating. Budge put forward the £2.5m required to stave off liquidation. She will be repaid in 2019, when the supporter-led Foundation of Hearts is due to assume her shareholding.
Already, that group has 8,100 monthly subscribers, paying upwards of £10, totalling roughly £125,000, per month. Where initially the funds were simply to save the club, they will continue to be needed. With stage one complete, Hearts can dare to dream about the size of their future.
In the meantime, Budge must balance running Hearts with deliberating over what comes next. “We still don’t have all the answers. That’s the truth of the matter. It is about how we can ensure the club is still allowed to be run professionally, people getting on with the business of running the club, whilst still recognising how important the supporters are. And they are such an important part of any club, whether they own it or not.
“We have to know what the supporters really want. I think they want to know that the club is safe, that it can’t be destroyed by an individual. They need to know there are safeguards in place to look after the things that really matter. Most supporters aren’t interested in running a club. So it’s about that balance.
“I have had letters saying: ‘I am a season ticket holder and a foundation pledger, I want to know exactly what the transfer fee was for player X.’ There are all sorts of reasons why you can’t disclose that information. We have to get the message across that nobody is trying to misinform but there are certain commercial things which you can’t just put into the public domain.
“At the point at which the supporters take over, I don’t imagine the banks will be lending money to football clubs again. In four years’ time, there will be other issues that need to be dealt with and the funds still have to keep coming in.”
Budge is not of a mind to call time on her involvement at that precise juncture. “It is in my blood now. I will be here for as long as I think I can add value or I am wanted. I don’t intend to sail off into the sunset in four years.
“When I was first talking about doing this, my advisers were saying: ‘The key is to get your money back as quickly as possible.’ I said that was pointless. This wasn’t just a case of saving the club today, in two years I will have my money back, thank you very much and best of luck to you. How would that have helped?”
Budge became acquainted with Sir Alex on the day of Dave Mackay’s funeral. “He had clearly done a bit of homework,” she recalls. “I used to watch him on television and think he was a typical dour Scot. It was quite pleasant to realise that isn’t the case at all. Now I just have to keep him onside …”
Recent history suggests Budge will not have a problem on that front.
