Hartlepool United Hit with Winding Up Petition and Threatened with Liquidation

HMRC has issued a winding up petition against Hartlepool United Football Club in relation to tax bills apparently left unpaid by the business.

Hartlepool’s main football club now faces a distinctly uncertain future with a court date having been set at which HMRC will make the case for the business to be liquidated.

The date for that hearing is set for March 21st, with Hartlepool United understood to owe HMRC a sum of around £48,000 in unpaid taxes.

The case will be heard by relevant specialists within the High Court and if HMRC’s winding up petition is successful then the County Durham football club may be liquidated and forced out of business.

Under those circumstances, liquidation processes will be commenced with the aim of seeing the football club’s assets monetised in order to pay down as much of its outstanding debts as possible.

It has been widely reported in recent months that Hartlepool United has been struggling to cover its outgoings on a month to month basis.

In the early weeks of 2018 the football club was said to have outstanding bills worth close to £200,000 and to be unable to cover the wage costs of its workforce, including its players.

The prospect of the football club heading into administration has been looming large for several months, with it having been put up for sale in December but no change of ownership having yet taken place.

Fans of Hartlepool United and other well-wishers have been contributing to fundraising webpages set up in support of the club’s efforts to cover its debts and avoid insolvency.

A total of close to £85,000 has been raised in recent weeks via one online fundraising page set up by a fan of the club but it remains to be seen whether those efforts will prove successful or not.

Explaining the reasons behind the creation of the page, its administrator Rachel Cartwright wrote: “Basically my football team Hartlepool United that I’ve supported since the age of 4 is on the brink of extinction.

“We originally had until the 25th of January 2018 to raise £200,000 to pay wages, bills etc to avoid being forced into administration, however since our takeover collapsed we still need all the help we can get.”