Tax man issues Bolton Wanderers with winding-up petition

Bolton Wanderers has been issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue & Customs, with a High Court appearance scheduled for March 20.

The petition was filed on February 4, and published this Wednesday.

The Championship side, which currently lies second from bottom in the league, three points from safety, has not commented.

Owner Ken Anderson issued a statement on Wednesday, but only to clarify speculation about possible takeover deals for the side.

He dismissed reports of an approach by a Turkish buyer, as well as a North West-based consortium backed by Russian money as “pure fiction”.

However, he did reveal: “The facts are that there is a consortium with which heads of terms were agreed and discussions are ongoing.

“There has, over the last week or so, been further interest from several other consortiums who have all signed NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and discussions are also ongoing with them.

“Everything else that has been said or written can be ignored as it is total fiction,” he added.

Last month the club was at loggerheads with League Two club Forest Green Rovers who had threatened to issue a winding-up petition relating to a row over the proposed transfer of Wanderers player Christian Doidge, who was on loan with the Gloucestershire club.

Bolton was also reportedly facing winding-up petitions from HM Revenue & Customs and the Stellar Football Limited agency, which represents former Bolton players Gary Madine, Tim Ream, Derik Osede and Rob Holding.

A Wanderers spokesperson said at the time: “If and when it is served, the club will vigorously defend the petition by Stellar Football Ltd.”

They added that any petition from HMRC “will be dealt with, if and when served”.

In September last year Bolton narrowly avoided administration over a dispute with its creditor BluMarble Capital.

A winding-up petition is a legal notice put forward to court by a creditor. The creditor can issue the petition if they are owed over £750 and it has not been paid for more than 21 days.