UHY Hacker Young wins Portsmouth administration

Administrators from UHY Hacker Young, led by Andrew Andronikou, have been
appointed to the administration of Portsmouth FC.

Portsmouth is the first Premier League club to file for administration following a hearing which took place earlier today, after weeks of speculation about the stricken club's future.

HMRC issued a winding up order earlier this year due to be heard in the High
Court on Monday.

Aim-listed accountancy firm Vantis was called in to assist with a court
order for the club to produce a statement of financial affairs to prove it was
not insolvent, submitted last week.

Yesterday the club owner Balram Chainrai said unless a new owner could be
sought by Friday the company would go into administration.

It is estimated that the club owes a total of £60m to its creditors.

“While many Portsmouth FC fans will be seeing this as a dark day, many observers will be reflecting that this is the best option for the club. Administration will draw a line under this sorry saga and end the ongoing uncertainty that has plagued the club over recent months," said David Hudson, head of formal insolvency at Baker Tilly.

Vantis client partner Nick O'Reilly told the BBC that the business had gone against all "good governance" and that he came away "not knowing who controlled what".

"I remain confident Portsmouth will survive," he added.

"A perfect result would be a properly constituted board."

Further reading:

Football clubs receive stay of execution

Portsmouth FC fails to block winding-up order