Portsmouth fc

[Mr Angry]

And so another potential bidder, Portco, for Pompey come out of the woodwork.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19657230

Lets hope for Pompey's sake, that this lot have an outstanding track record of financial solvency and capability..........

"Little more is known about Portco, although it is believed to be interested in the club for its "sleeping giant" potential and the chance to redevelop the Fratton Park site.

Kerr is the director of a relatively successful financial services company called Avalon, and is a fan of Hibernian and Arsenal. There is a Portco Ltd listed with Companies House but it voluntarily dissolved in 2010 without ever posting accounts."

Erm...........dare I say that this is a chancer looking to make a quick buck on turning Fratton Park into a building plot???

[AthleticoSpizz]

Erm....lets hope so


This whole tedious tale belongs to that of an 18 lifed cat

(currently working alongside a Supporters Trust investor in Portsmouth....£1k down already.....he suspects that at least one of the potential buyers, is one of his mates on a wind-up)

[buzzby]

So this is why the deadline was moved from the previous time. Not for the original bidders to finalise their deals. But for the club to have more time to try and get more potential bidders.

[AthleticoSpizz]

yes...and they didn't necessarily trust the ones they already had

[Who Moved The Goalposts?]

So this is why the deadline was moved from the previous time. Not for the original bidders to finalise their deals. But for the club to have more time to try and get more potential bidders.

And it appears that no one of either right mind, legitimate plans or sound finance has turned up yet. Wonder why that is

[Barry the bird boggler]

And so it goes

[facaldaqui]

Is it just me or is Michael Appleton looking more and more like Vincent Van Gogh, particularly the self-portraits he did just before he cut off his own ear? I worry about this man, who looks increasingly haunted.

[wolsey]

Why would anyone want this comedy to finish?

Portsmouth: Chainrai dismisses Pompey Supporters' Trust bid


By Matt Slater
BBC sports news reporter
Balram Chainrai, the man trying to become Portsmouth's owner for the third time, has described a fans' bid for the club as having "no substance".
The Hong Kong-based businessman also claimed his firm, Portpin, was the only bidder with the "experience and money to return Portsmouth to its glories".
He said a Pompey Supporters' Trust (PST) bid would fail due to "in-fighting and lack of actual money".
"You can't run a business like that," Chainrai told BBC Sport.

He did, however, admit to being unsure whether Portpin would pass the Football League's "owners' and directors' test", a necessary step if Pompey are to continue to play league football under his control.

Colin Farmery, spokesperson for PST, said: "I am a bit bemused by Mr Chainrai's statements. The last time we heard from the administrators there were no issues in terms of our bid stacking up financially - and the Football League has made it clear they have no issues either.
"As for 'in-fighting', nothing could be further from the truth. PST has been consistent throughout in our belief that we offer the best deal for creditors and the club. We are completely united in our goal."

That objective was in sight last week when PST appeared to be on the verge of being named as administrator Trevor Birch's "preferred bidder" last week, but the trust has heard nothing from his firm PKF since Thursday.
That has led to rumours that the administrators have decided to hand the club back to Portpin, meaning Chainrai would become owner for the third time since February 2010.

"PKF weren't able to confirm PST as preferred bidders because its offer has no substance," Chainrai said.
"[PKF] realised that once you start the due diligence on the trust's offer, there is no actual money in place and there are about 30 of them all trying to run it. You can't run a business like that. "We have the money and experience needed to take the club back where it belongs."
The issue of Portpin's experience at Portsmouth, however, could work against Chainrai.
For most fans, community leaders and the local media, he personifies a fall from grace that saw the 2008 FA Cup winners change hands four times in the 2009-10 season and become the first Premier League team to enter administration.
Portpin controlled Portsmouth's parent company at the time of this dramatic financial collapse, and it was Chainrai who appointed an administrator to halt an HM Revenue and Customs winding-up petition.
Describing himself as a "reluctant owner", Chainrai claimed he was only acting to protect his "investment", a £17m loan - secured against the club's assets - to former owner Ali Al Faraj.
In October 2010, Portsmouth, now shorn of a large chunk of its £135m debt, emerged from administration with Portpin in charge again, only for Chainrai to sell the club in June 2011 to Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov.

Six months later, Antonov was arrested for alleged bank fraud and the holding company he used to buy Portsmouth was placed in administration.
Within two months, the club also entered administration. The supporters' trust alleges Portpin controlled this process, too, which means it falls foul of the owners' and directors' test - a rebranded version of football's infamously ineffectual fit and proper person test.
Under the new system, anybody who has been a director of a club that has suffered two insolvency events since June 2004 - or two clubs that have had an insolvency in that time - is disqualified.

So far, the Football League will only say it is in talks with Birch about the legal status of the respective bids, but the "next stage is for him to select a preferred bid for the board to consider formally".
Pressed on this by the BBC, Chainrai said he had heard "the same rumours of people claiming this and that" about the post-Antonov administration, but denied Portpin had anything to do with it.

"They can't pin that on us, and the club directors [at that time] know it. We were totally distant," he said.
But his claim runs counter to details PST has sent to the Football League."Portpin's past actions have caused the club to twice go into administration, which is why we have written to the Football League formally on this matter now the time for them to make a decision is coming closer," said PST spokesman Farmery.
Former chief executive David Lampitt, now chief executive of Supporters Direct, the organisation that promotes community ownership of sports clubs across Europe, is believed to have made it clear that Portpin was the primary mover in Portsmouth entering administration again.
This would appear to put the Football League on a path to a legal dispute with Chainrai, a well-worn route some PST supporters believe is behind PKF's sudden change of heart towards Portpin as well.

With Portpin's strongest card being the mortgage it holds on Fratton Park, any move to take it from Chainrai was likely to end up in the courts, an expensive business for an administrator under pressure to secure the best return for creditors and his partners.
For his part, Chainrai says he is willing to spend whatever it takes to get Pompey back up the league ladder.
"The club has no value in League One. Everybody knows that," he said.
"So I'm going to put money in to return them to their glories and then sell the club. But who knows? I might enjoy it so much I won't sell it.
"I'm not reluctant anymore. I've changed my mind."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19711385

[facaldaqui]

I haven't gone into the detail, but it seems to me, on the basis of common sense, that Balram Chainrai will never be allowed by the Football League wallahs to take over Pompey again. Whether the other lot have the money to run it I doubt. On this basis, I suggest that Portsmouth are odds on to fold.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I haven't gone into the detail, but it seems to me, on the basis of common sense, that Balram Chainrai will never be allowed by the Football League wallahs to take over Pompey again. Whether the other lot have the money to run it I doubt. On this basis, I suggest that Portsmouth are odds on to fold.

If Chainrai doesn't get it, then PST will do, more or less by default. Whether they have the money to run it is not a valid point - because by definition they'll run it on a self-sustaining basis, not spending more than their income. That's what a Supporters' Trust does.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Also transpires today that Chanrai is employing people via a PR agency to pose as Pompey supporters on Twitter to boost his support there. qv @TigerPFC

[Royal Monk]

The PST bid will fail because the football league insist that who ever takes over HAS to pay the full outstanding £8,000,000 to Kitson etc (deferred wages).
In the PST bid they have proposed to pay only £2,000,000

[Alexander Litvinenko]

The PST bid will fail because the football league insist that who ever takes over HAS to pay the full outstanding £8,000,000 to Kitson etc (deferred wages).
In the PST bid they have proposed to pay only £2,000,000

I think they've updated the bid since then, but I'm not sure it's correct that the players will insist on 100% payment. Not sure of the exact details but it's not quite as clear-cut as that.

[Royal Monk]

The players reached an agreement with Trevor Birch ( the administrator) over their deferred wages. The players negotiated what they would settle for and that is what forms the £8,000,000.
The football league have said that unless this agreement is met (dont forget the football creditors rule) a bidder will not be allowed to take over.
Chanrai has now agreed to settle this , he has the money
The PST only allowed £2,000,000 for this and where hoping the players would agree to even more reductions on what they are owed.
There is no way the PST can pay the outstanding football creditors the full amount and continue to run the club , they simply dont have the money

[PieEater]

There is no way the PST can pay the outstanding football creditors the full amount and continue to run the club , they simply dont have the money

I'm not sure that's true, they have £16m of parachute money and could defer £6m due to players until they get the last £8m. Even if all that goes on fees, players and settling Chainrai, they should then the able to compete without being bankrolled like most everyone else in the league, the trouble is they still want "investment" and a "competitive" team

[Royal Monk]

They dont have 16 million of parachute payments .... i'll dig out the info i have and post it later

[Royal With Cheese]

They dont have 16 million of parachute payments .... i'll dig out the info i have and post it later

That's already either been spent or has been pledged I believe.

Either way, they're phuqued.

[PieEater]

They've had part of this seasons payment to keep them afloat but there is still another £8m next season to come, so I assume they'd want to defer the majority of player settlements till then.

Mind you after signing Boa Morte and Buzsaky there may not be much left afterall.

[Geekins]

Confirmed http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19787824
So he could've gone to a Championship club... Pompey starting to offer ridiculous wages again??

[Alexander Litvinenko]

If anyone wants an objective and definitive account of what happened at Portsmouth, this is an interesting read :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/oct/25/portsmouth-supporters-trust-balram-chainrai