Pompey Supporters Set For Club Takeover
Portsmouth Football Club is set to be taken over by the Pompey Supporters’ Trust after a late deal was struck with Portpin for the sale of Fratton Park, following 14 months in administration.
Portpin, led by Balram Chainrai, claimed they were owed £12 million by the club and held Portsmouth’s home as security. The takeover remains conditional on PST taking control of Fratton Park.
The PST had offered £3 million for the ground but with Portpin unwilling to sell at that price, administrators BDO went to the High Court to force the sale.
However, an agreement has been reached out of court between administrators and Portpin – thought to be in the region of £3 million plus add-ons
It now means the fans’ group can now go ahead with their purchase of Fratton Park and BDO can start the process of finally bringing the club out of administration.
The PST are believed to have raised around £2 million in pledges with fans’ donating £1,000 each to save the club – currently struggling towards the bottom of League One.
Following relegations from the Premiership and the Championship, another incoming ten-point penalty leaves the south coast club almost certain to begin their rebuild from League Two next season.
Ashley Brown, chairman of the PST, said in a statement: ‘This is a historic day for Portsmouth Football Club and for Pompey fans everywhere.’
‘At last, the tough work done over the last year is over and we can start to rebuild our club. Pompey fans are now days away from owning and running our club and becoming the biggest community owned football club in the country.’
‘We have a lot of people to thank, and much more to say, but will do that once the details of today’s settlement are finalised.’
‘For now, we would like to offer heartfelt thanks to Pompey fans all over the world who have pledged money and have saved our club from liquidation. Now the next chapter of hard work begins to transform our club into something the community of Portsmouth can be proud of, both on and off the field. Play up Pompey.’
Iain McInnes, prospective Chairman of PFC concluded: ‘If you believe you can do something, you can – and we have.’
