It might have been given a week-long stay of execution after the winding-up petition against it reached the High Court yesterday, but don't be surprised if Premier League club Portsmouth is tipped into administration anyway.

The owners of the club were told in court that they have a week – until 4pm on 17 February, to be precise – to file a "statement of financial affairs" proving they can clear over £12 million in tax arrears.

But according to insolvency specialist Guy Thomas from SA Law, a week may not be enough time to come with such a statement.

As such Thomas, who advised Watford FC when it faced administration last year, suggests it's "inevitable" Pompey will fall into administration.

"Given the minimum nine-point penalty that the Premier League may impose, it is highly likely that the club will prepare its finances on the basis it will be in the Championship next season," he adds.

The adjournment of Portsmouth's winding-up order was granted after the club's representatives claimed they've received two serious offers to sell the business, though a High Court registrar warned that the club might be trading while insolvent.

No related posts.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Business News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.