ONE of Scotland’s oldest football clubs is facing a leadership crisis after it emerged a former owner has been disqualified from running businesses and a current director has been found to be a member of an “aggressive” tax avoidance scheme.
Championship side Dumbarton, which was founded in 1872, is planning to move from its current ground in the shadow of the town’s historic castle to a greenfield plot amid growing supporter concerns about its future.
However, an investigation by The Herald’s sister paper, the Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter, has raised questions about senior executives at the club, which was previously exposed in the Sunday Herald as belonging to an opaque offshore structure.
It revealed that Andrew Hosie, who was an owner of Dumbarton between 2008 and 2012, has been banned for 12 years from being directly or indirectly involved in running a company after his betting firm – Gambling Insights Ltd – went bust with debts of over £7 million. He was found to have misled investors on numerous occasions.
The paper also discovered that Ian Wilson, who is a Dumbarton director, was a member of the Eclipse 35 Film Scheme which faces a massive tax bill after losing an appeal at the Supreme Court in April.
Mr Wilson, 65, will this week meet fans to spell out plans for a proposed ground move to a farm outside the town.
Simon Barrow, of Sonstrust, the registered provident society that brings together hundreds of Dumbarton supporters, said: “It is of the utmost importance to Dumbarton supporters that the club’s owners, their business associates and the dealings they are involved with demonstrate full probity and responsibility. We want the supporters to have a growing stake in the future of the club we love, and we see greater financial and ownership transparency as an essential component of the trust and collaboration needed to take Dumbarton FC forward.”
There is no suggestion that Mr Hosie has committed any wrong- doing in the administration of Dumbarton or any of his other companies. Mr Wilson has not broken any law in the arrangement of his personal tax affairs.
Dumbarton is mostly owned by a company called Brabco 736, which in turn is owned by the apparently offshore Granada Enterprises.
Mr Hosie was also a director of Bet Butler, a bookmaker which sponsored Dumbarton FC’s stadium for two years until 2014, and the bookmaker’s parent firm Betclearer.
Both companies went bust in 2015., with Betclearer Ltd going into voluntary liquidation.
Andrew Hosie and his father Callum bought the majority shareholding in Dumbarton from Neil Rankine in 2007 and formed Brabco 736 Ltd. The company still holds 75 per cent of the club’s shares.
Mr Hosie was a director of Brabco until July 2012, when he resigned, shortly before Dumbarton announced the stadium sponsorship deal.
Callum Hosie remains a director of Brabco, while Colin Hosie, his cousin, is the club’s vice-chairman, having previously held the role of chairman.
Dumbarton director Ian Wilson is also a director of Betclearer Ltd, alongside Andrew Hosie.
Mr Hosie’s disqualification prevents him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
It is understood Mr Hosie accepted all of the charges against him and, as a result, avoided the maximum penalty of a 15-year disqualification.
Mr Wilson, 65, who has been a director of the club since 2008, was a member of a film partnership which was found by HM Revenue and Customs to be using industry exemptions to help its members avoid paying tax.
In 2012, the tax tribunal denied the claim by Eclipse 35’s members to £117 million in tax relief, though they had not been acting unlawfully in joining the scheme and making the claim.
Mr Hosie’s disqualification prevents him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
It is understood Mr Hosie accepted all of the charges against him and, as a result, avoided the maximum penalty of a 15-year disqualification.
Mr Wilson, 65, who has been a director of the club since 2008, was a member of a film partnership which was found by HM Revenue and Customs to be using industry exemptions to help its members avoid paying tax.
In 2012, the tax tribunal denied the claim by Eclipse 35’s members to £117 million in tax relief, though they had not been acting unlawfully in joining the scheme and making the claim.
In a statement on the Dumbarton FC website, Mr Wilson said: "I refute categorially that I am embroiled in a tax evasion scheme.
"I am and always have been on a good standing with HMRC, my tax affairs are up to date and settled and will continue to be so.
"I have never received any tax benefits from my membership of Eclipse 35, and in fact became a ceasing member in early 2013.
"I am now part of a large and growing action group who believe we were mis sold Eclipse 35 as an approved scheme and are seeking legal redress from those who promoted it.
He added: "Dumbarton FC is one of the oldest in the country, with a rich history, and it deserves a positive future."
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