Portsmouth aim to avoid plummeting into administration by settling £7.5m tax bill

Fratton Park club make announcement on eve of High Court date on Wednesday...

9 Feb 2010 08:22:00

By Alan Dawson

More On :  Portsmouth
Fratton Park - Portsmouth (PA)
Portsmouth have been studying the possibility of settling a £7.5 million tax debt in a last-gasp effort to avoid witnessing the club plummet into administration.

The Hampshire outfit, floundering at the bottom of the Premier League ladder, are to appear in High Court in London on Wednesday, to face a HM Revenue & Customs issued winding-up order.

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Pompey tried to get the case postponed; however, they failed in their attempt.

"We have started discussing a settlement and those talks will go on all day if necessary to reach a solution," club spokesman Gary Double explained to the Daily Mail.

New owner Chainrai, a Hong Kong business, has - along with chief executive Peter Storrie, pleaded for further investment from potential sponsors.

"We need time for a new buyer to come in and then we will be in a position to pay," Storrie confirmed.

Should Portsmouth enter administration status, then the £17m that Chainrai loaned the club - designated for payment to player's wages and various other debts - would be jeopardised.

Chainrai, though, may have his money saved as - even though he is alleged to want to sell the club already - there are "two or three" parties interested in taking the club over, according to executive director Mark Jacob, who informed the BBC of the news earlier this week.

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