FOOTBALL fever returned to the City yesterday after the hiccups suffered in recent weeks as Scottish club Heart of Midlothian became the latest side to announce plans to join the stock market. The Edinburgh side intends to raise between £5 million and £6 million via a placing, while the move is expected to value the club at between £15 million and £20 million.
The feelgood factor looks set to continue, despite the fall of the first casualty, Millwall, at the end of January. Hearts will be only the second Scottish team on the stock exchange, with Celtic on the second tier Alternative Investment Market since September 1995.
Aston Villa, Newcastle United and at least another two Premier League sides are understood to be close to revealing their market ambitions, with first division Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City also interested.
But the fate of Millwall, one of the first to float, but also the first quoted club to go into liquidation, showed what could go wrong if a market move backfired or ran out of stream.
The Lions' share price had plummeted from 20p when it debuted on AIM, the second tier market, to just 4p when suspended at the end of January with debts of over £10 million.
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