Swindon Town FC attended the Companies Court on Monday 23 February 2015 after being served with a winding-up petition by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”). However, they are returning to the High Court in March over further disputed debts.
Swindon Town FC Will Return to the Companies Court
Swindon Town FC were on the verge of getting their winding-up petition issued against them dismissed. However, it was reported that as Fiona Dewar set out HMRC’s wishes, Emma Knight, who was representing Quantuma, the administrator of St John Law, the legal firm demanding fees for last year’s ownership victory, asked Mr Registrar Baister if the petition could be substituted to her client, rather than dismissed.
“This is based on debt incurred through invoices for solicitors’ fees. The administrator has been trying to contact the debtor since October last year and had very little response.
Outside court I was told there was a dispute over the liability, but this was the first time I was made aware of this particular dispute.”
Niall McCulloch, representing Swindon Town, said his client was glad it had satisfied HMRC, but nothing short of surprised to see the administrator in court attempting to amend the petition. He said his client was disputing the outstanding fees as it did not feel it was liable for them.
Registrar Baister agreed to re-serve and re-verify the petition with another date set for Monday 9 March 2015, He said:
“This is just another football spat.”
Swindon Town’s Disputed Debts
In December Quantuma reportedly claimed it was owed £68,000 by Swindon Town FC as the administrator of St John Law.
The club denied owing the law firm any outstanding fees, and said it was a personal matter between Mr Power and St John Law.
Mr Power declined the opportunity to answer questions after the hearing and Swindon Town later said it would not be commenting on the hearing.
Winding-up Petition Solicitors
If you have received a winding up petition our legal experts are able to provide legal advice and representation. Our team of solicitors and barristers can obtain a court adjournment; CVA’s or successfully challenge the validity of the winding up petition to ensure that the petition is dismissed, often without public advertisement.