by Dirk Gently »
03 Feb 2022 10:59
TiagoIlori Stranded TiagoIlori Don’t we have to enter administration before we can liquidate? That would mean the administrators would take control of the club and would have full control over the next buyer. He already owns the training ground and the stadium has been sold on if I remember correctly. I think Dai is much more likely to sell the club and forgive the debt personally than anything else.
Pretty sure an owner can voluntarily liquidate a company. Administration is only used if there is a chance (and a want) to keep the company going. Could be wrong though.
Think it might be slightly different for football clubs as they are given more protection than the average business.
Most of the problems with modern football are that football clubs are, legally, exactly the same as any other company, and so subject to the exact same rules. Ideally they should be seen as a different type of legal entity with enhanced protections - but they don't get any extra protections - it's just that more people tend to be intereted in them than your average business.
But what it means is that the owner can effectively voluntary liquidate a company but in reality any other debtors (e.g. HMRC, the PFA etc) would ask for administrion in the hopes of getting something back. Whether the administrator thinks there's any hope of rescue depends on the financial state of the company, the level of debts, what can be sold - and the prospest of finding a buyer for the whole enterpirse.
And a lot of that will depend upon what the owner does with the debt that's been buit up owning to them. If he walks away and writes it off there's a hope, if he insists on insist on it being repaid then any rescue will be so much harder. In any post-Admin settlement, he'll have about 99% of the voting pwoer as they are proportionate to the debts owed to each creditor.