By Andrew Warshaw
April 10 – The High Court hearing into the future of ailing English club Portsmouth was finally due to get under way today in what supporters hope will result in the biggest fan ownership scheme in English football.
After a succession of postponements, administrators went to court to try and force through the sale of the south-coast club’s crumbling stadium, Fratton Park, at a price the Pompey Supporters Trust (PST) can afford.
Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai believes he is owed £12m and holds the stadium as security through his company Portpin – one of five different Portsmouth owners since 2009 – via a fixed charge. The PST says it is worth far less and has offered £2.3m.
The PST have already been approved by the Football League as well as the club’s creditors as preferred bidders but on the pitch Portsmouth are battling to avoid the humiliation of a second successive relegation that would see the 114-year-old club plummet into the fourth and lowest tier of the professional game in England.
The club has been in administration for 14 months and administrator Trevor Birch said: “If the Court agrees with the value that the PST has placed on the property, then a sale of the club to the PST can proceed very quickly. It is impossible at this stage to predict what will happen if we lose because there are so many variables.”
In February the Trust were granted a £1.45m loan from Portsmouth City Council to help fund their proposed purchase. New club chairman Iain McInnes was upbeat about a new era for the crisis-torn club that has debts of around £60m. “If you believe it you can achieve it,” he said. ”I’m proud to be part of a group of people who have collectively pulled together to get us this far. Finally the fans can see the end of what’s been a very long and challenging haul. We will not be counting any chickens just yet particularly as there’s due process to go through. However I believe that if a bid is to be judged on its merits, financially, operationally and motive then there can be only one outcome.
“The simple fact is that every penny we raise as fans, whether through the trust or as individual fan investors, will contribute directly to the rebuilding of our club. The money we have raised will be the most significant capital – as opposed to loan – injection the club has had in the past 30 years. It will mean Pompey fans will be in control of the destiny of our club.”
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