Tony Bloom's Hearts investment voted through by FOH

For the past nine days, Foundation of Hearts members have been voting on whether or not to approve a £9.86million investment from the Brighton owner, for which he would a 29 per cent shareholding - a new class of non-voting shares.
The deadline for the circa 8,000 members to cast their vote was 5pm today and the Tynecastle club have now confirmed the results.
A landslide vote of 98.5 per cent sees the FOH pass the proposal for Bloom investing in the club and becoming a minority shareholder.
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Before it can be officially sealed it has to be ratified by the Scottish FA, whom it is believed the English entrepreneur has already held talks with. The club would also have to hold an EGM to officially rubberstamp the deal.
FOH's shareholding would be diluted to 53.6 per cent but they would still hold 75.5 per cent in voting shares.
Just 50 per cent of the vote was required to pass the proposal and so it went through with a landslide.
Of 6208, 6112 were in favour and 96 were against.
Bloom would get one seat on the board and it's understood he would place one of his associates in there rather than taking it himself.
A statement from Foundation of Hearts chairman Gerry Mallon reads: "I would like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation process. Clearly it is a huge majority in favour and this demonstrates - once again - the passion the Foundation members have for the club and their determination to see it move forward and reap the benefits of the financial investment.
"We have a wonderful opportunity now, I believe, to begin to tackle the challenge of becoming a disruptor of the long-standing status quo in Scottish football. It will take time, and it will require the continued – and indeed increased – financial commitment of Foundation members, current and new, to achieve this goal, but we have never been better placed to reach that position.
"Tony Bloom's decision to invest in Hearts was very much founded on the many benefits he saw at Tynecastle through the club being in fan ownership, not least its financial security through the level of our pledging. What a testament to you, the supporters, and what a moment to be able to build on this, increase our membership, and drive forward together.
"The consultation process was also a great demonstration of the power of fan ownership. Not for Hearts fans the scenario of waking up to find that a deal has been reached behind closed doors with some rich person to take over their club. Foundation members were able, as their right, to scrutinise the offering and make a decision, yes or no. That is the level of influence and power that we the fans now have here, thanks to you."

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Spectator

16 minutes ago

• Spectator

Is Dutch tolerance dying?

Campaigners across southern Europe are protesting against 'touristification'. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, wealthy expats are in the firing line. Businesses in Amsterdam could be asked to foot the bill for local housing if they employ highly-skilled internationals. Alongside paranoia about asylum seekers, there is a rising feeling that expats and even holidaymakers are unwelcome in parts of the continent. The Netherlands was once an outward-looking, tolerant, trader nation. Is that still the case? It's not much fun to live in a place – or even visit somewhere – that resents your presence, especially if you have bothered to learn the local language and swallowed the high tax rates that fund northern Europe's generous social benefits. But this 'me-first' sentiment in Europe is great news for London and anywhere else in the market for scarce global talent. Post-Brexit 'trading volumes shifting to Amsterdam appear to be here to stay,' Dutch financial paper Het Financieele Dagblad jubilantly announced earlier this year. The paper claimed that 'Amsterdam is now bigger than London'. In the aftermath of Britain's departure from the EU, there certainly appeared to be some evidence that London's dominance as a global financial centre might be at risk. But – unlike the years after the 2016 EU referendum, in which the European Medicines Agency relocated to Amsterdam, and the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency loudly boasted about winning businesses, jobs and investments – there has been a change of tone. The Netherlands was once an outward-looking, tolerant, trader nation that advertised for foreign students and was proud of its English-language proficiency. Is that still the case? Last week, Amsterdam council voted to pass a motion to ask international businesses based in the Dutch capital to contribute to solving a general housing shortage and pay for programmes to get their 'lonely' foreign workers to integrate. The policy, 'Make Amsterdam your home', sounded friendly enough, but the message behind it was anything but. 'In short, internationalisation is part of our city but it also brings challenges, such as driving up house prices, the emergence of a parallel world and the transformation of neighbourhoods, for example because more and more English is spoken,' it declared. Foreign companies, said the accompanying Labour press release, should be expected to give something back. As the Netherlands remembers 80 years of liberation from the Nazis – thanks to Allied troops, speaking that awful language of English – foreigners are being blamed for driving up house prices and sabotaging social cohesion. The facts are less important than nationalist gut feeling: the Dutch government offers 110,000 highly-skilled migrants (including footballers) a temporary tax break to compensate for its high income taxes. But despite the expats, who don't even have a vote, benefitting our country, they are far from popular. It doesn't seem to matter that a government analysis found the tax break raises €128.5million (£110 million) a year, has a 'very modest impact' on house prices and 97 per cent of the highly-skilled professionals work full time, compared with 52 per cent of the Dutch. Nor that Statistics Netherlands research suggests that Germans and Brits lead the least segregated lives and wealthy locals the most. The Dutch government recently collapsed in a row over asylum created by far-right veteran Geert Wilders. Universities are scrapping English-language courses and capping international student numbers. Now, Amsterdam councillors are pointing the finger at internationals for the consequences of the Netherlands' part-time lifestyle, lack of house-building and preference for single-person households. Meanwhile, the country continues to ignore calls from the European Commission, Dutch central bank and its own economists to reduce home owner tax breaks that inflate its housing market. It's easy – if absurd – to vilify other people and treat hard-working foreigners who do the jobs you can't or won't do as 'exploiting' your system. But the result is obvious: when places like the Netherlands become hostile to international business and talent, it will go elsewhere. The failure of Dutch tolerance is a marvellous opportunity, in other words, for a place like London – where you can be judged by what you can do instead of by your name; where a finance minister doesn't have to admit the tax office has a problem with 'institutional racism'; and a government doesn't fall after falsely accusing some 40,000 families of childcare benefits fraud. Non-doms might not be welcome in the UK – and Wise, the British fintech, might be leaving for New York – but filthy-rich talent is not a problem in London. Some Dutch experts, at least, recognise that their golden age is tarnishing. To the concern of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW), the country dropped from 4th in 2021 to 10th this year in the IMD's world competitiveness ranking. The Netherlands might be ahead of the UK (29th) with the help of its international trade, but tax policy is rated a dismal 67th – well under Britain. The general-director of the VNO-NCW Focco Vijselaar tells The Spectator that there is cause for concern. 'For quite some time, we have been pointing out the concrete rot in our business climate,' he said. 'And you see the cracks in these kinds of lists. If you look at international investment, we are at 41st place, an unprecedentedly low spot. We are struggling with major bottlenecks in the Netherlands: a housing market that is locked down, nitrogen pollution problems and high energy prices.' Flip-flopping on highly-skilled migrant tax breaks does not help, he added: 'We need the expats.' Liberal democrats in Amsterdam are also worried about scapegoating the international community. 'That social cohesion is under pressure is not solely due to the expats,' said Democrats 66 economics spokesman Erik Schmit last week. 'Housing prices are rising: it is not proven that this is solely due to the international community…As a government, we have other priorities.' But after constant changes to the 30 per cent highly skilled migrant tax-free allowance and the removal of its non-dom ruling, the Netherlands is increasingly out of favour. New foreign student numbers have plunged, threatening various courses. Data from jobs site Indeed shows a drop of 48 per cent in applications from India and 40 per cent from the UK this year. Emigration appears to have peaked and highly-skilled migrant numbers are tumbling. Britain might have creaking infrastructure and complex regulation, but it is remarkably open and far less corrupt than many of its neighbours. If the Dutch want to drive out innovators, talent and factories with high energy prices, punitive taxes and cultural suspicion – and if southern Europe is busy fighting with tourists – other cities have a chance. Now is the time to declare Britain open for business.

Glasgow Times

27 minutes ago

• Glasgow Times

I tried Glasgow's newest food and drink tour

Gillian says she was inspired to start the business as the loves 'doing food tours everywhere I go' and wanted to combine the city's food scene with its history. She told the Glasgow Times: 'I did my first ever food tour in New York in 2008 and I just got hooked and thought this would be a great idea to set up in Glasgow.' She continued: 'I thought it would be great to combine the two [food and history] because Scotland's produce is amazing, and it's not always recognised, and Glasgow's history is really interesting. We love sharing stories of Glasgow's past. 'I also wanted to support local and independent businesses. You don't get many about these days so it's great to support them as well as the local community and economy.' READ NEXT: New restaurant opens in Southside bringing a taste of Algeria to Glasgow Mercat Cross (Image: David Dixon via The Merchant City Stroll, which launched in April, was developed alongside Visit Glasgow with Gillian using sources such as Slow Food Glasgow's Sustainable Food Directory to develop a route around the oldest part of the city. She explained: 'I looked at the route and how it would not only cover local and sustainable produce but also logistics, looking at how I would incorporate the city's history into the tour. 'This tour is all about great food and drink, trying traditional and multicultural tastings - it's a city of many cultures. The businesses I work with focus on sustainable produce.' She added: 'We not only want locals to come and enjoy their city, but also want visitors to come and explore the city the way I see it. Glasgow's got so much to offer.' Saint Mungo mural (Image: Newsquest) The Merchant City Stroll starts at the Mercat Cross where I met our tour guide Rae, who was a fountain of knowledge on Glasgow's history. I was on the tour alongside a family of four visiting from the USA. Our first stop was a short walk around the corner to coffee shop and bakery Outlier on London Road. Outlier, which opened in 2022, makes all of their baked goods on site. Here we were each given a coconut macaroon which gives a nod to multicultural influences in Scottish cuisine. READ NEXT: Further details revealed for brunch spots new 'bigger and better' eatery Macaroons at Outlier (Image: Newsquest) This is not my favourite sweet treat but on taking a bit I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It was nice and moist with the perfect amount of coconut flavour for me. On leaving Outlier, we headed into the historic Barras and to Crossbill Distilling, who have been producing their range of award-winning Scottish gins in the city since 2017and are the only distillery in the country to source their own juniper berries in Scotland. A sample of Crossbill Green Dry Gin at Crossbill Distilling (Image: Newsquest) I didn't plan on sipping on straight gin before 12pm - specifically their Green Dry which takes on the flavours of blue and red juniper berries and juniper needles - but it was surprisingly smooth, and you could pick up the fresh flavour from the needles. Our next stop was at the award-winning Bare Bones chocolate which came at the perfect time as it gave us an escape from a heavy dump of rain which started suddenly (but thankfully stopped just as quickly). At this stop, we were able to sample their chocolate and we each got a hot chocolate with a homemade marshmallow and were told a little about the process. Hot chocolate at Bare Bones Chocolate (Image: Newsquest) The hot chocolate was really rich and was a nice size, and I liked having the freedom to choose what chocolate we sampled. The second half of the tour was a much more food heavy as we made our way to Merchant Square for stop number three Table Twenty Eight. We were served a small portion of Barra scallops with asparagus and squid ink risotto, which gives a nod to the city's Italian population and influence. The scallops were perfectly cooked, and the risotto and asparagus were delicious. Scallops, asparagus at risotto at Table Twenty Eight (Image: Newsquest) We then made a quick dash across the road to Mharsanta where we each got a taste of Stobcross Lowland Single malt whiskey, a small bowl of Cullen skink and shared some plates of haggis, neeps and tatties with a whisky cream sauce. The Cullen skink in particular stood out to me here, it was creamy and full of flavour with a lot of smoked haddock flakes in the portion. Haggis, neeps & tatties and Cullen skink (Image: Newsquest) For our final food stop, we headed out east again to Drygate brewery where we had a small portion of fish and chips (well, skinny fries) with a glass of their Seven Peaks IPA which is also in the batter. The batter was nice and crisp with delicious flaky fish, and by the end of this last stop I was officially stuffed. Fish and chips at Drygate (Image: Newsquest) Throughout the tour we also stopped at sites such as The Barras, Glasgow Cathedral, the Necropolis, and St Andrews in the Square, as well as seeing several of the city's murals including the Big Yin, Saint Mungo and Fellow Glasgow Residents. I really enjoyed the balance of history and food and learnt a lot of interesting facts about Glasgow I didn't know thanks to Rae and I found there to be a good mix of dishes on the tour. Although the tour was four hours, with the stops spaced out how they were it was about 5000 steps in total so it wasn't a tiring walk. Both the Merchant City and West End tours are limited to a maximum of 10 people on each tour, and think being on a small tour better for being able to hear Rae, as well as for being able to chat with other guests. Archive image of Glasgow Cathedral (Image: Supplied) My tour-mates have done several food and drink tours in different cities, with them saying the Boston Food Tour would be hard to beat. So, what did they think of the Merchant City Stroll? 'This is our favourite one we've ever done,' they said, also praising the mix of food and history. Next time I have friends visiting from outside Glasgow and I'm not sure where to take them, I think this would be the perfect option. The Merchant City Stroll takes place Monday to Thursday and Saturday and costs £95 per person. You can find out more at

Scotsman

33 minutes ago

• Scotsman

'We don't feel valued' - Farmer angst over political uncertainty at Royal Highland Show

Inheritance tax and trade deal contribute to general sense of being 'well down the pecking order' Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... With hundreds of thousands of people walking through the gates to celebrate Scotland's largest agricultural show, you would think farmers felt supported. But that wasn't the general feeling among members of the farming community attending the Royal Highland Show in 2025, a year that has seen political change bring an uncertain future for many in the sector across the UK. Political promises Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon opened the show with promise sounding statements, including the Scottish Government's decision to reject climate change advice to cut livestock numbers by almost 30 per cent by 2040. However, Tory MSPs attending the show, including Tim Eagle and Finlay Carson, were quick to point out cattle herds and sheep flocks are in decline anyway, with little to no mention of how policy will protect numbers dwindling further. MSPs, including Tim Eagle (second from left) at a political debate at the NFUS stand at the Royal Highland Show | Katharine Hay Ms Gougeon also announced £14m will be available for farmers to apply for funding for the Future Farmers Investment scheme. Some in the industry, however, felt this will only back a few hundred businesses and will instead just 'get hopes up.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Farmers on the ground were fairly dismissive of the SNP politicians bearing gifts, with some in the showground accusing ministers of paying lip service. Uncertain future for next generation Ewan McCall, who farms Luing cattle near Golspie, in the north east Highlands, spoke to The Scotsman about the uncertainty he feels in the sector and for his children, who he hopes will have a future in agriculture. Ewan McCall, who farms Luing cattle in the north-east Highlands | Katharine Hay 'It has been a tough year,' he said. 'We have had a lot of pressures from government: inheritance tax, the ongoing problems with tree planting and the grab for land for that. 'There are the trade deal issues as well. There's so much uncertainty at the moment that we don't feel valued. We don't really know what the future will be for the next generation.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr McCall said the declining beef herds, if left to continue, will impact the wider agricultural industry. 'We don't want the cattle numbers to drop any further, nor sheep numbers,' he said. 'We need to think about food security at a government level and take it seriously. We are in a very uncertain world at the moment.' On a positive note, the farmer said prices for cattle are currently good. But it's a small bonus. 'There are mixed emotions,' Mr McCall added. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Our personal businesses have been okay. But it's the ongoing background pressures that probably have been putting a dampener on things. 'I am positive about the future but I would like to have more certainty about how things are going to progress and what the future holds for the next generation, for my kids.' Real impact of 'family-farm tax' Farming unions said they are going to keep up the pressure on UK ministers to revise or u-turn on the 'family farm' tax proposals. However, Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray, who attended the show on Thursday, said the party will not budge. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is one of the many worries looming over the farming industry, including for Mr McColl. 'The difficulty is if I was to die early, my kids would be faced with massive inheritance tax,' he said. 'The farm would have to be sold and they wouldn't get the chance to farm and that's something I feel really strongly about. In that respect, it's not good at all.' Laura Needhin, farmer in Aberdeenshire, echoed Mr McCall's concerns. Laura Needhin, a sheep farmer in Aberdeenshire | Katharine Hay 'There's a lot of uncertainty ahead,' she said. 'I don't think the Labour government, in particular, are backing farmers enough. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Inheritance tax for lots of small farms that have moved through families for 200 hundred years are going to be gone. It's a big worry for a lot of farmers.' At the opening of this year's show, the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) called on the Scottish Government to promise a multi-annual funding commitment for the farming sector. Lack of detail on future of subsidies to support farmers It comes after years of uncertainty on how Scotland's subsidy system will work post-EU with only half of the scheme confirmed a decade after Brexit. Sheep farmer and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) lecturer Heather Kerr said while price stability in the sector is relatively good at the moment, 'it's always something you worry about because, long-term, we don't have a huge amount of information with what's going on with subsidies.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Heather Kerr, a sheep farmer and lecturer at the SRUC | Katharine Hay Ms Kerr added: 'It's difficult to plan so that we can be in a good place when the changes come as they are not things that you can just change overnight.' The college lecturer said while the employment rate for students with rural skills is high, the barrier for new entrants into farming still remains strong for those without the cash for land. At a debate held in the NFUS stand at the show, promises were made from politicians of all political stripes to do more to encourage new entrants and young farmers in the industry. A young farmer's outlook Young farmer Alice Haig, who farms with her dad in Forfar, pointed to multiple challenges the younger generation face in the sector. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We're not as supported as people think we are. There's a bit of a rift in between people in towns and rural folk, and I think that's come on since this UK government has come in power.' She said the reality of farming doesn't always appeal to her peers, which could explain labour shortages in the sector. 'Sometimes younger people think it's a nine to five but it's not,' Ms Haig said. 'It's hard to get a job that's got set hours in farming. It's hard to make a good amount of money in farming. It's also hard to get reasonably priced housing in rural areas. It's cheaper to live in towns and cities, you get better paid, you can plan for the future. So I think farming suffers a bit from that. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Laura Haig, who farms with her father in Forfar, Angus | Katharine Hay 'It's not just young farmers. I think the lack of support that farming is getting as a whole means we are not supported as young farmers and we don't see it as a prospect that we might once have done.' Agriculture 'well down the pecking order' Elsewhere, farmers shared the undervalued sentiment. Gordon McConochie , a farmer from Grantown-on-spey in the Cairngorms National Park, said agriculture seems to be 'well down the pecking order' when it comes to other land management such as species reintroductions. Gordon McConachie, who was showing Aberdeen Angus and Highland Cattle at the Royal Highland Show | Katharine Hay He said the increase in raptors has been 'phenomenal', but the impact on the farming community and other species are often overlooked. 'I have no faith in any of the politicians to do anything radical. They seem to be scared to venture into agriculture. We are the whipping boys of the country at the moment. 'Our farming leaders need to be stronger.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Retired farmer Andrew McConchie, who ran a livestock farm in Dumfries and Galloway, said: 'I represent hill farming. The only thing the governments seem to be interested in is carbon capture. Retired farmer Andrew McConchie, who farmed in the south-west of Scotland and represents hill farming | Katharine Hay 'My grandson started farming now, I retired ten years ago, I definitely wouldn't change places with him. You just don't know whether you're wanted or not.