FINANCIAL ADVISOR REQUIRED

[AFF]

 

The moral of the following story, a report from the Western Daily Mail or something, for the Chairmen of football clubs everywhere is :Forget this CVA cr@p. ALWAYS PAY THE BILLS!:

 

£4,000 DEBT WILL NOT PUT FOOTBALL CLUB FUTURE AT RISK

 

 

12:00 - 14 February 2003

 

Exeter City's owners today assured supporters the threat of a High Court winding up order would not put the club in peril.

 

London-based Queensway Publishing Ltd claims to be owed £4,170 from its production of 5,000 glossy brochures to accompany Michael Jackson's appearance at St James's Park last summer.

 

And today the company served seven days' notice of its intention to serve a winding up petition against the club.

 

Co-owner John Russell acknowledged the club had failed to comply with a county court judgement in December ordering the money to be paid.

 

But he said the debt would be settled within the week and that there was no danger such a relatively small debt would put the club's future in danger.

 

But the threat of a winding up order is a reminder of how dire the club's finances are.

 

The Grecians are wallowing in around £2m of debt including £700,000 owed to their main creditor, construction giant Mowlem.

 

Russell said: "Rest assured, within the next seven days, it will be paid."

 

But Russell warned there were much larger debts that threatened the club's future.

 

"We have a considerable amount of money to find for Mowlem - a six-figure sum - by the end of this month and some people (other creditors) are going to be disappointed," he said.

 

"If we don't get Mowlem paid, then we will not have a club.

 

"We are well on target to do so, but things like this keep knocking us back off track."

 

The Grecians stood to pocket up to £20,000 from the sale of the £4 souvenir programmes but Queensway has waited eight months without any payment.

 

The company's managing director Lee Harding insisted taking the action was a "last resort"

 

[mdetaylor]

I think you would struggle to find a court that would allow a winding up order to be made over £4k (particularly when the banks will have charges over money/property owned by Exeter and would control any insolvency proceedings (the IR may have something to say about it as well (assuming crown preference has not been abolished just yet (I am fairly sure it hasn't)))).

 

Unsecured creditor - might get enough for a cup of tea.

 

Maybe it is a wind up in a comic sense.

[Tom S]

It's a standard tactic. Threats to issue winding-up proceedings tend to concentrate companies' minds wonderfully, if only to avoid the expense and hassle of having them thrown out.