Bids to take Plymouth Argyle out of administration have to be submitted by midday next Monday, March 14th. The administrator then hopes to make an announcement about a preferred bidder by this time next week. Four groups are said to be potentially interested.
Bids to take Plymouth Argyle out of administration have to be submitted by midday next Monday, March 14th. The administrator then hopes to make an announcement about a preferred bidder by this time next week. Four groups are said to be potentially interested.
Among them is reported to be former club chief executive Keith Todd who was removed by the board on Christmas Eve. He is said to have been in touch with the club’s two Japan-based directors who failed to provide funds to prevent the slide into administration. One would have thought that the club would benefit from turning over a new page, but the administrator’s task is to assess the credibility and viability of the bids, not how palatable they are.
In a separate development, the Charity Commission has launched an investigation into the transfer of £300,000 to the club by a charitable trust which took out a mortgage on Home Park. The investigation follows a complaint by a member of the public.
A statement from the Charity Commission said: ‘The Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into the Plymouth Argyle Supporters Training and Development Trust on Tuesday, 8 March. Our investigation relates to the charity’s governance and financial management. We remain in contact with the charity.’
The Charity Commission defines a ‘regulatory compliance case’ as one where the risks are limited, and problems can be resolved through ‘supervision, regulatory advice and guidance to trustees, without the need for us to intervene by using our legal powers – and it will usually be where we have serious concerns about the charity that amount to misconduct or mismanagement’. In other words, the situation is regarded as serious but not so serious that legal action is required.