Heart of Midlothian set to exit Administration!!!

BBC Scotland Sport wrote:
Hearts moved a step closer to coming out of administration after creditors of a failed Lithuanian bank approved the sale of shares in the club.

Businesswoman Ann Budge has been awaiting an agreement so she can complete a £2.5m takeover of the Scottish Premiership outfit.

Ian Murray MP said: "Ukio Bankas creditors met this morning and approved the deal.

"Sale and purchase agreement needs completed, but we can say deal done."

Ukio Bankas is Hearts' biggest creditors and owns 29% of the Edinburgh club's shares as well as security over Tynecastle Stadium.

But that will now be sold following agreement at a meeting of the bank's creditors committee.

It follows a deal signed last with the bank's parent company, UBIG, to buy the investment company's 50% holding in Hearts.

A club source said that, although a few details had to be ironed out, they were "effectively safe from liquidation".

Vaidotas Vysniauskas, spokesman for Ukio Bankas' administrators, said: "The creditors committee of Ukio bank have approved it today and it is a final step from Ukio bank, fortunately."

Hearts can begin exiting administration after 27 April - following of 20-day cooling-off period for the UBIG share deal.

The football club's administrator, BDO, had feared running out of cash - and liquidation - had there been a further delay to the Ukio Bankas deal.

It approached the Scottish Professional Football League to establish if money due to be handed out at the end of the season could be paid to the club now to ensure they could fulfil their fixtures.

BDO had warned that there was only enough money to keep Hearts going until the end of April.

Hearts entered administration in June with debts close to £30m.

They started the season with a 15-point penalty for being in administration and sit bottom of the table, with relegation already a certainty.

Budge has said she will pass on control of the Edinburgh club from her BIDCO takeover vehicle to the Murray-led Foundation of Hearts fans group within the next five years.