Owls given 28 days to fend off administration

Sheffield Wednesday have been given a 28-day stay of execution by a High Court Judge in order to find new owners and pay off their outstanding tax bill.

The club, best known as ‘The Owls’ had been facing a winding up petition from HM Revenue & Customs for £600,000, but the judge revealed in court that the figure had more than doubled to £1.4m due to interest, VAT and fines.

The judge confirmed that the Yorkshire football club, were currently insolvent, but had been granted the extension under exceptional circumstances.

Deputy prime minister and Sheffield MP Nick Clegg, who lobbied the tax authorities and the club’s bank to help win a reprieve, warned that Wednesday’s escape was “only a stay of execution and much more needs to be done.”

Wednesday had hoped to broker a deal before the court date with one of four suitors including Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric, but time ran out. The Co-Op Bank, the largest creditor with around £23m outstanding, was said to support the Mandaric offer, but current club chairman Howard Wilkinson has been critical of the offer.

Insolvency News reports on HM Revenue and Customs 'Time to Pay'

“HM Revenue and Customs has finally revealed just how many Time to Pay arrangements have been granted to struggling businesses since the start of the recession. The official figures show that a whopping 371,200 agreements, worth £6.8bn, have been agreed. Critics of the scheme have said that whilst it has prevented an Armageddon, it is simply delaying the inevitable wave of collapses that will occur once the measure is withdrawn – the very definition of the “extend and pretend” catchphrase.” 
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Insolvency & Rescue Awards 2010

For the team at Beer & Young, the Insolvency & Rescue Awards on 21^st October proved to be an evening of delight and jubilation with Beer & Young taking away the award for Business Rescue Funder of the Year (Broker/Equity).

The event, held at the Lancaster London saw almost 600 professionals from across the insolvency and rescue sectors enjoy a night of entertainment and festivities as industry winners took home awards. 

Managing Director Nick Young commented:

“We are very grateful to come out on top of our peer group in this key category. We are delighted to have been recognised as the major deliverer of equity funding to SMEs seeking working capital for their businesses.”