Close or Rescue My Sports Club

Rescue, Recovery, and Closure Options for Sports Clubs

While elite teams from the country’s upper playing tiers can rely on lucrative broadcasting and sponsorship deals, as well as the backing of wealthy owners, the same cannot be said of amateur and semi-professional sporting teams playing in the lower leagues who are often wholly owed by fans. For these clubs, the money generated on matchday - whether through ticket sales, or sundries sold on the day such as programmes and food and drink - represents their main revenue source. Should these income channels dry up, problems can quickly start to mount.

Close your sports club via liquidation

If your sports club is finding itself increasingly reliant on its cash reserves and unable to generate income, you may be considering your options for the future. When it comes to financial distress, there are often a range of solutions, depending on the financial position of the company, its future viability, and the desire on behalf of shareholders or members to continue operating.

One option you may be considering if your sports club is insolvent, is to place it into a liquidation process. Liquidation is a formal insolvency procedure which brings about the ultimate end of a company. It is a huge decision to take, and in the majority of cases it is irreversible. Before making any decision, you should make it a priority to seek the services of a licensed insolvency practitioner who will be able to talk you through the whole process and help you understand what this will mean for all involved at the club. They will be able to talk you through any possible alternatives to liquidation if you are keen to continue operating in spite of your current challenges. 

The liquidation of an insolvent company is achieved through a Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation – or CVL and is a process which can only be entered into under the guidance of a licensed insolvency practitioner. As part of the CVL, all assets belonging to the sports club will be identified before being independently valued and sold. The proceeds of this will then be distributed amongst the clubs outstanding creditors on a proportional basis according to a set hierarchy of priority, before the company is wound down and removed from the register held at Companies House.

As a corporate insolvency process, a CVL is only something that a limited company can enter. If your sports club is not registered as a limited company yet you still want to close it down, you will need to seek a respective process which suits the structure of the club. Our team of licensed insolvency practitioners are here to advise you on this, whether your sports club is incorporated or unincorporated, or even if it is run as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) or has adopted Charitable Status.

“Spoke with Chris who put me at ease straight away. He was very knowledgeable and listened intently to all my worries and concerns. Will definitely be using Real Business Rescue and advise anyone with business issues to give them a call.”

Diana

 

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Chris Bristow
Business Debt Expert

Rescue my sports club

If your sports club is current facing a financially perilous time, all is not lost. Many clubs are in the same position, and the good news is that there are a variety of ways to save your sports club, particularly if the club is incorporated as a limited company.

An insolvency practitioner will be able to take an independent view of your club and talking you through what options could be appropriate for saving the business. This will involve looking at the club’s financials and understanding what led up to the club’s current position. An assessment will be done to help judge the future viability of the club and its chances of effecting a successful turnaround.

If the club has previously been in a solid financial position, there is a possibility that a plan can be put in place to help you weather the storm and ensure the club is in a good position to bounce back once restrictions are lifted both on and off the field.

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and once this starts to become squeezed, problems can quickly escalate. When revenue takes a significant and unexpected hit and once guaranteed income streams dry up, cash flow is affected almost immediately. Taking out a form of commercial finance could help to rebuild a company’s cash reserves and allow for outgoings to be paid. This may be an option if you are confident in your club’s ability to bounce back once restrictions are lifted.

Alternatively, if the gap in income has caused you to fall into arrears with your obligations, whether to trade creditors, your bank, your landlord or HMRC, embarking on a process of negotiation could be the most suitable option.

Tax arrears could be repaid via an agreed set of installments rather than as one lump sum by arranging a Time to Pay (TTP) agreement directly with HMRC. You can enter into these negotiations yourself, or we can liaise with HMRC on your behalf. We have arranged countless TTPs for a whole variety of companies, and we know exactly how to present your case in the best possible light, improving your chances of success.

For those sporting clubs who owe money to a range of creditors, a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) may be more suitable. A CVA is a formal insolvency process which is entered into by an indebted company and its creditors, and supervised by a licensed insolvency practitioner. A typical CVA will run for between 3-5 years, depending on the agreement, and is legally-binding on all parties. A CVA allows for the indebted company to make lower monthly repayments, and is contingent on creditors agreeing to this reduction.

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In order for the CVA to become legally-binding a minimum of 75% (by value) of voting creditors must give their agreement to the proposal put forward. The proposal will be put together by the company’s insolvency practitioner, and the payment terms offered will be based on how much your club owes and how much it is able to repay.

For those clubs facing legal action by creditors, placing the club into administration can help provide immediate relief from litigation threats, and allows for valuable time for a robust plan to be devised. This may involve selling the whole, or part of, the club, embarking on a restructuring process to divest the club of unprofitable areas, or entering into an alternative process such as a CVA or liquidation through a CVL.