Derby going into administration

[The Hooded Claw]

The players don`t become free agents - that only happens in a Liquidation. One of the problems the Administrators will have is how to reduce the wage bill as no-one can be sold outside the transfer window and players are highly unlikely to agree to a cancellation of their contracts. One strategy used before in football club Administration is to try and do a deal with players , paying up part of their future contract income - this reduces the longer term club liability (making it more attractive for a buyer), gives the player some immediate cash and leaves them free to join a club with no transfer fee involved in January.

All football debts have to be paid in full . including transfer fee instalments and player wages (subject to a deal being done as above) and all secured creditors also paid so that a creditor with a charge over the ground or other assets either gets paid off or the debt taken on by the new owner. Also all non-secured non football debts have to be paid at least 25% of the amounts they are owed. Only if the above conditions are met can a club come out of Administration. Otherwise it will have to go into liquidation like Bury.

Bury haven’t gone into liquidation. They are currently in administration (just checked on Companies House), but I expect it’s a technicality as there’s not much left.

[Ninian1962]

Bury haven’t gone into liquidation. They are currently in administration (just checked on Companies House), but I expect it’s a technicality as there’s not much left.

You are quite right and I was wrong to mention liquidation in the manner I did. The current Administration period of 12 months will shortly come to an end (the Administrator may apply for an extension if he can convince the court that there is a realistic prospect of getting an asset sale away in the near future but an extension grant is not a "given".) If the Administration fails then liquidation will follow.

The position in the Administration does not look good according to the Administrators report to creditors. No assets have bee realised apart from some credit card payments for prior services provided and most of that cash has gone in legal fees. There has been insufficient money for even paying the Administrator himself. The report suggests that there have been a number of parties expressing an interest in buying the stadium asset but only two firm offers and neither of those eventually progressed. The report also says that there is no prospect of any creditor being paid anything other than those who have a charge over the stadium and the figures suggest that even they will suffer a shortfall.

Previous arrangements with creditors (CVAs) have failed because promised payments to creditors were not made.