Plenty of questions for Ron Gordon to answer as 'quiet man' faces first Hibs AGM

Supporters are eager to hear what the American-based businessman has in store
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Hibs fans will tonight finally learn of Ron Gordon’s “exciting vision” for the future of the club as the new owner addresses his first annual general meeting.

Since his fanfare arrival in Edinburgh as he relieved Sir Tom Farmer of the reins, American-based businessman Gordon has been a regular visitor to the city but has also managed, by and large, to fly under the radar.

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Other than the occasional venture on to Hibs TV, the multi-millionaire has very much kept his cards close to his chest, precious little revealed of how his plans, as he said that day back at the beginning of July, to “grow this club in a way that’s positive for both the club itself and Edinburgh” were progressing.

Hibs owner Ron Gordon after taking control of the club last summer. Picture: SNSHibs owner Ron Gordon after taking control of the club last summer. Picture: SNS
Hibs owner Ron Gordon after taking control of the club last summer. Picture: SNS

At that time, he insisted, Hibs needed to “build an infrastructure that consistently delivers results year in and year out and ensure we are competing”.

Two “pillars” that would have long-term repercussions and impact for the club, he said, would be an indoor facility and an academy which would be the best in Scotland.”

Gordon’s low-key approach inevitably found him dubbed “the quiet man” or “the invisible man”, sobriquets he no doubt found amusing because he had made a fortune from having started with just $200 dollars in his pocket. He has set about forging his strategy for the club, adamant that you “can’t go from A-Z without going through all the letters”.

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Nevertheless, supporters have been anxious to see that masterplan unveiled, tonight’s agm being held a couple of months later than in recent years, the delay leading, naturally, to speculation as to what exactly what Gordon has in mind. By law, the club’s accounts had to be published in advance of the annual gathering of shareholders, the figures showing that without the sale of John McGinn to Aston Villa, Hibs would have lost a “significant” amount of money, but an operating loss of £748,000 was turned into a pre-tax profit of £2million.

Gordon, who paid off the club’s £2.25m mortgage, which was costing £500,000 a year, and pumped £1.25m into its account, revealed that as a result Hibs had ended the financial year in a very strong financial position, with a cash balance of £5.5m and no debt.

His first six months, he stated, have been spent learning, asking many questions and taking a good look at all aspects of the club, working closely with chief executive Leeann Dempster, the board and management team in developing a strategic plan to guide the vision and actions for the next several years.

“We’re excited about the vision we have created for the club,” he said in a letter sent to shareholders. “And I hope that you will be too.”

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While hoping Gordon’s highly-anticipated blueprint delivers, supporters will also be intrigued to know as to how he aims to fund it all given his surprise that football clubs in Scotland aim to just break even.

“For me, a strong and sustainable club can only be built on a strong business,” he told shareholders. “And that means one that generates profit that we can reinvest in our football team; that will gain us more sustainable success, one that will drive more happy supporters back to the club, which in turn will help us continually become stronger.”

Just how he believes that can be done is the question. Where can that sustained profit at the levels needed to drive Hibs forward – with no John McGinn to sell every year – be generated?