Rescue plan proposed to save Bury Football Club

Steven Wiseglass

A rescue plan for Bury FC in the form of a proposed company voluntary arrangement (CVA) has been sent to creditors.

Steven Wiseglass, a director at Inquesta Corporate Recovery & Insolvency, has been appointed as the nominee of the CVA on behalf of Steven Dale, the club’s owner.

The club is facing a winding-up petition, led by HMRC, over unpaid debts, but in the Royal Courts of Justice in London earlier this week Judge Mark Mullen granted the club’s request for a six-week moratorium on the proceedings.

Mr Wiseglass said: “We are delighted at the court’s decision as it gives the club a breathing space in its attempts to come up with a rescue package.

“We are working closely with the club and its director to try to ensure the club’s survival.

“I consider that the CVA proposal has a reasonable prospect of being approved and implemented and the club is likely to have sufficient funds to carry on its business during the moratorium.”

He added: “The overall payments to creditors under the CVA would be greater compared to liquidation. It is a fair and viable proposal and I expect to receive a decision from creditors within a few weeks.”

In April new owner, Mr Dale, said he was looking to sell the troubled club just five months after taking control at Gigg Lane, just two weeks before the crucial court hearing involving the winding up order that had been issued.

He said: “I have outlined in my previous statements the difficult environment we bought into in late November, which has been well documented.”

“Even though I was advised by my advisors not to proceed, I decided I could help, given the information we had.

“This football club was in serious trouble, and this turned out to be far in excess of what we could have comprehended. I can confidently say that had the takeover not gone ahead when it did, Bury Football Club would have been no more.”

Close