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Pompey get away with it


Mr. Gayle

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Joke ting

Portsmouth are free to begin the new Championship season after a challenge to their Company Voluntary Agreement by HM Revenue & Customs failed.

HMRC had wanted the agreement blocked, arguing that it unfairly favoured football creditors over others.

The proposed CVA will give Pompey's administrators time to try to settle the club's debts and find new owners.

HMRC, which claims it is owed £37m in total by Portsmouth, said it was "disappointed" but would not appeal.

Pompey's lawyers had stated that the club faced extinction if it lost the case, which was fast-tracked through the courts to get it resolved ahead of the 2010-11 Football League campaign, which starts on Saturday for the men from Fratton Park with a trip to Coventry.

HMRC's lawyer Gregory Mitchell QC said the way the club's CVA favoured football-based creditors - including players, who could recover 100% of money owed - over others, such as HMRC itself, meant "one class scoops the pool and the rest are left out in the cold."

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  • 2 months later...

this is a sad sad situation. Hope their fans pull together and start up something of their own, a fair few of them came to a FC meeting and game last season and the possibility of this was discussed,

And we've already agreed to help them out in which ever way we can. advice and what not, just Like Afc Wimbledon did for us.

The Fa should take a fair ammount of blame for this if it happens, their fit and proper persons test raped United, Raped the scouser, raped City the first time round, and raped Pompey over and over again.

Its a shame.

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Portsmouth say they are likely to fold as they are unable to continue trading after negotiations with key creditor Alexandre Gaydamak broke down.

The club claim that Gaydamak demanded an upfront cash payment to allow a possible deal to go through and allow them let to exit administration.

"It appears likely that the club will now be closed down and liquidated by the administrators," said Pompey.

Earlier in October the club's latest plan to exit administration was vetoed.

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Portsmouth say they are likely to fold as they are unable to continue trading after talks with former owner and key creditor Sacha Gaydamak broke down.

The club claim that Gaydamak demanded an upfront cash payment to facilitate a possible deal to go through and allow them to exit administration.

"It appears likely that the club will now be closed down and liquidated by the administrators," said Pompey.

Earlier in October the club's latest plan to exit administration was vetoed.

That proposal was blocked by the Football League on the grounds that they wanted clarification on four issues before handing Pompey's golden share back.

The Championship club went into administration in February with debts of around £120m.

The first Premier League club to suffer that ignominy Pompey were then docked nine points and were subsequently relegated.

Gaydamak was Portsmouth's owner between 2006 and 2009 before selling the club to Sulaiman Al Fahim.

"Despite the new owners fulfilling all the requirements of the Football League and the creditors, and agreeing and signing up to the required terms of the purchase of the club, at the 11th hour the goalposts have been moved by Gaydamak," said Pompey in a statement.

Pompey administrator Andrew Andronikou added: "We've reached a serious impasse in our negotiations with Sacha Gaydamak and until we can reach agreement with him there is a significant risk that the club will have to be liquidated.

"We have agreed terms with every other party involved but there is now this new obstacle that must be cleared. We are trying to get Sacha Gaydamak to see sense."

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Portsmouth's administrator, Andrew Andronikou, tonight denied a statement on the club's official website which said the club may be about to go into liquidation due to a claim by the former owner Sacha Gaydamak for an upfront payment of £2.5m.

Andronikou stated that Portsmouth will play at Hull City tomorrow but said Gaydamak's Jewish faith meant he was out of contact until the Sabbath ended on early Saturday evening and so is unavailable to resolve the issue. The article had been published on the website due to "pure frustration".

The statement said: "It appears likely that the club will now be closed down and liquidated by the administrators as they are unable to support the continued trading of the club. Portsmouth Football Club is extremely disappointed to report that it has not yet managed to achieve the exit from administration, despite the extensive efforts of the Football League, NewCo, the administrators and their various legal advisors.

"The most difficult aspect has been trying to achieve agreement with Alexandre [sacha] Gaydamak after the remaining parties have agreed the deal and executed the necessary documents, namely the new owners, the administrators, the Football League and the creditors.

"Put simply, despite being offered full payment for the secured part of his debt in accordance with the financial plan approved by the Football League, this morning Mr Gaydamak has demanded a very significant upfront cash payment in order to allow the deal to proceed by releasing his security."

Andronikou said Gaydamak's demand to be paid the £2.5m in a single payment was unfeasible, given the club's stretched finances. "The statement is a little premature," he added. "He [Gaydamak] wants more security, which I fully appreciate. He will be repaid in full for his debenture of £2.5m but, like the rest of the creditors, it will have to be in instalments.

"It's not possible [to pay the £2.5m in a single sum]. We've been running the club on a shoestring. We've got to deal with the needs of all creditors and we've got to secure the club going forward. He [Gaydamak] will have to stand in line like everybody else. He [is due] about £2.5m. He'll get that when everybody else gets paid."

The Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai is in the process of buying Portsmouth and Andronikou claimed that only Gaydmak's stance was preventing completion. "All that's been done. All the paperwork with regard to the Football League and the Premier League has all been agreed. We're already to go," the administrator said. "We are ready to sign up the paper[work] and unfortunately Mr Gaydamak decided that he has got religious constraints, [so has] again decided for 24 hours to turn his phone off. I think through pure frustration the press release was released."

It is thought Chainrai may have been behind the statement's publication. Andronikou said he hopes Gaydamak will be available to resolve any issues tomorrow evening. "I think the Sabbath starts at five o'clock [Friday evening] or when the sun goes down, so we can't speak to him until [then]. I'm trying to distance myself from this press release. But it's happened."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/22/portsmouth-administrator-claim

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