Hearts joint-administrator Trevor Birch has warned that going down the newco route cannot be ruled out if his Lithuanian counterparts play hardball over the transfer of the club’s shares.
Departed Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov’s collapsed companies UBIG, which is about to be placed in administration, and Ukio Bankas, which has been declared bankrupt, own a combined 79.9% of theclub.
Rangers were forced to set up a new company last season after Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs rejected a Company Voluntary Arrangement, with the club ordered to start again in the bottom tier of Scottish football as a result.
And Birch admits Hearts, who owe £15 and £10 million to UBIG and Ukio respectively, might be left with no option but to go down that road.
Birch said: “They might say, ‘well we want £10 million for them’ or something stupid; or there might be difficulties with the [UBIG] administration; administrators might not be appointed quickly and, therefore, you won’t be able to sell them (the shares) quickly that way.
“Whether someone is wanting an exorbitant figure or not, it’s whether you are physically able to deliver them.
“If we cannot get the shares then we have to start thinking ‘is there another way of doing it?’ And that might mean of course the Rangers way. They set up a newco because they could not do a CVA because of HMRC.
“But that took them out of the league so there was a precedent there.
“You try and avoid that at all costs. Whether the SPFL and the SFA would treat us the same way, I don’t know.
“A newco has not been discussed as an option but you have to look at all situations and all alternatives, because if we were hitting our head against a brick wall and we could not sell (the club) then that might be the only alternative.
“And then it would be up to the authorities to see how they might deal with that.”
Meanwhile, Hearts supporters are closing in on the 3,000 mark of extra season ticket sales, which they were challenged to reach in a two-week period ending on Friday.
Supporters also raised £30,000 at a rally on Sunday and the Foundation of Hearts group has secured direct debits from most of the 6,000 fans who pledged money towards a takeover bid.