Portsmouth court date pushed back for a third time
Administrators to Portsmouth will need to wait until the end of the month to find out the future of the collapsed club
PKF ADMINISTRATORS to Portsmouth FC have received court backing to postpone its date in court until the end of the month.
The future of the club rests on its sale to the Pompey Supporters Trust (PST). However, a court date has been set to resolve a dispute on the valuation of the club’s grounds which will determine whether or not PST will be able to buy Portsmouth FC out of administration.
The PST claims the Fratton Park is worth about £2.75m – meanwhile, the owner of the grounds Portpin claims it is closer to the region of £11m.
Portsmouth FC entered administration for the second time in two years on 17 February, with PKF partners Trevor Birch, Ian Gould and Bryan Jackson appointed.
Papers were filed in November with a court date originally set for 13 and 14 of December. However, the courts pushed that date back until 15 January. It is now postponed further until 31 January.
Birch, PKF partner, said: “Following discussions last week, all parties agreed to ask the court for an adjournment until 31 January. We have been informed this afternoon that the judge has granted this request.”
Trust chairman Ashley Brown said: “Our original wish was to buy Fratton Park ourselves and we are optimistic that we will be able to achieve this, which of course is what the fans want.
“All money is held in an escrow account and will only be used should the bid proceed, as we all hope it will. The more cash we can raise before the final court hearing, the better our chances of success. It is as simple as that.”
At the time of the original filing, Birch said the hearing was “critical in deciding the future” of the club. If the court agrees with the valuation of PST, it can be sold as a going concern, which is now the only option outside of liquidation.
“This court case is the culmination of months of hard work behind the scenes in trying to resolve the complex issues which this administration has posed. We will continue to work closely with the PST to finalise our case,” Birch said at the time.