The real threat hanging over Pompey that they
could be forced out of existence was lifted in the High Court
yesterday, when Judge Mr Justice Mann ruled in the club’s favour in
their battle with the taxman.
After the ruling HM Revenue and Customs lawyers said they would not be appealing.
That
means Pompey have secured a Company Voluntary Arrangement with
creditors and can now take steps to move out of administration and have
their transfer embargo lifted.
Portsmouth chief executive David Lampitt hailed the ruling as: “A massive step forward that will provide security and stability.
“I was always reasonably confident that we had a good case. I was a bit jittery beforehand, but delighted with the outcome.
“We now have the opportunity to start rebuilding this great club.
“We
now have a process to go through, a few more hoops to jump through in
terms of exiting administration and getting through the requirements of
the Football League.
“There is a way to travel yet, but this is a massive step forward. This was a very important first win of the season.
“We hope it will be a matter of weeks to come out of administration and get on a sound, new footing as quickly as we can.”
Club administrator Andrew Andronikou added: “I am happy for the club and the creditors that this situation has been secured.
“We
second-guessed the HMRC position and all credit to our legal team, who
were always quietly confident this would be the outcome. We kept our
submissions basic and simple.
“The CVA has been secured, now we need to deliver a purchaser for the club and move forward.”
Manager
Steve Cotterill can now look forward to bringing in new players –
albeit free signings and loans, knowing there is still no money in the
transfer kitty.
But it is a huge relief for
Cotterill, who revealed yesterday that he has just 14 players available
for tomorrow’s opening Championship game at Coventry.
Mr
Justice Mann announced in Court 52 that he had found against an
application by HMRC that the CVA brokered with creditors to bring the
club out of administration was flawed.
HMRC
argued that they were owed £37million by Pompey, a figure that would
have given them more than a 25 per cent stake in the list of creditors.
If
that figure had been accepted, they could have blocked all moves by
Pompey to move out of administration, and would almost certainly have
led to the club going into liquidation and being kicked out of the
Football League.
But throughout the months of
wrangling, Andronikou and the club’s legal team argued the figure was
only £24m, and that was finally accepted by the High Court judge.
Confirming
the HMRC would not be appealing, a spokesman said: “HMRC is naturally
disappointed not to have won and we can confirm that we do not intend
to appeal.
“Our aim when pursuing debt of any kind is to achieve a fair outcome for the taxpayer.
“We
will take this forward in the wider context of the football industry
through separate and outstanding legal proceedings over the status of
the so-called Football Creditors Rule.
“This
is an important and complex judgment and until we have had the
opportunity to study it in detail we can’t comment further.”
Now the CVA is agreed, Pompey can go ahead and appoint a new owner.
Former
chief, Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai will almost
certainly take charge of the club again, although that rankles with
some supporters.
They blame him, along with former owners Sulaiman Al Fahim and Ali Al Faraj, for their club’s sad decline.
But
with the threat of liquidation now finally removed, there could yet be
a late flurry of activity as would-be buyers come forward to show their
hands.
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