Dunfermline pursuing 'last resort' option of administration

Sports writer

Friday 22 March 2013

Dunfermline Athletic's directors face a race against time to put the club into administration and stave off the threat of liquidation.

Dunfermline fans have been unable to raise £250,000 to buy Gavin Masterton's 94% shareholding

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Richard Wilson

Herald Sport understands no potential rescue plan looks viable, or has raised enough funding, leaving voluntarily administration as the only other option in the face of the winding up order served on behalf of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Dunfermline owe £134,000 in unpaid taxes and talks have been held all week by fans groups and local business people to try to raise £250,000 to buy Gavin Masterton's 94% shareholding. However, no formal proposal is in place and figures within the club believe that if no action is taken before 5pm on Monday, HMRC will petition the Court of Session to appoint a liquidator. In theory, the club's results for this season would then have to be cleared from the records and the players would be unemployed.However, it is possible for the club to petition the court and HMRC to request that an administrator is appointed instead, and Herald Sport revealed last week that this was being considered as a last resort. It is now being actively sought. This would place a moratorium on the club's debt – £8.4m, with £450,000 due to business creditors and the rest to Masterton and his fellow directors – and buy time for fan groups to come up with an alternative plan. Buying the club from the company in administration also releases it from the complicated financial web within Masterton's Charlestown House group. The group would still own East End Park Ltd, which owns the stadium, but that company would almost inevitably go into administration as a result of Dunfermline doing the same and whoever buys the club could bid for the stadium. Herald Sport believes that significant figures within the club accept administration is the best of the likely outcomes, but there are obstacles. An administrator would need to be certain there is enough cashflow to fund the business to the end of the season. Even after drastic staff cuts, Dunfermline would struggle, and external funding might be required as a guarantee. A friendly has been mooted with Manchester United, but the fixture is not yet finalised.An administrator can petition the court today or Monday, but HMRC need to agree to the appointment. Either way Dunfermline, whose players did not receive all of last month's wages, with another salary run due next week, are running out of time.

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Dunfermline pursuing 'last resort' option of administration

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