Bolton Wanderers Creditor Pursues Winding Up Order Over £5m Debt

A major creditor to Bolton Wanderers has issued a winding up petition against the football club in relation to a £5 million loan given to the organisation last year.

The High Court is now scheduled to consider the petition and whether to issue a winding up order against the club on May 22nd.

According to the Bolton News, the football club is hopeful that the matter can be settled before that date and before a ruling is given at the High Court.

The issues at hand are understood to centre on a £5 million loan given to the co-owner of Bolton Wanders Dean Holdsworth and his company Sports Shield last year.

The creditor in the case is an Essex-based financial advisory and trading firm called BluMarble, whose loan helped Mr Holdsworth and Sports Shield to buy the football club as part of a consortium in March 2016.

BluMarble is now demanding that the £5 million debt be settled and has apparently issued its winding up petition with that aim in mind.

A spokesperson for Bolton Wanderers has said: “Bolton Wanderers Football Club has been made aware of the proposed action by BluMarble in respect of their arrangements with Sports Shield BWFC.

“This matter relates to Sports Shield BWFC and it is therefore inappropriate for either Burnden Leisure Limited, Bolton Wanderers Football Club or Inner Circle Investments to comment and as such will not make any further statement about this issue at this present time.”

Inner Circle Investments is a business led by Ken Anderson, which formed part of the consortium that acquired Bolton Wanderers in March 2016.

Mr Anderson acquired an amount of shares in the football club from Mr Holdsworth in March 2017 and he is now the majority owner of the organisation.

Prior to its sale, Bolton Wanderers was one of the most heavily indebted football clubs in England, with a winding up petition issued against it by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in early 2016.

The club’s debts with HMRC were eventually settled but issues relating to its ownership structure and its financial dealings continue to make headlines.

Meanwhile, on the pitch the club is potentially on the verge of a return to the Championship and the second tier of English football if they can maintain their current position in the League One table and successfully secure promotion in the coming weeks.