Three directors at Portsmouth were forced to take out an emergency loan yesterday to pay players. The executive board of the club then challenged owner Sulaman al-Fahim to deliver on his promise to refinance the club within the next fortnight. Having arranged the £1.8m loan so that the players can be paid and the club can meet its obligations this month, the three-person board issued a strongly worded statement in which their criticism of al-Fahim was only thinly veiled.
Three directors at Portsmouth were forced to take out an emergency loan yesterday to pay players. The executive board of the club then challenged owner Sulaman al-Fahim to deliver on his promise to refinance the club within the next fortnight. Having arranged the £1.8m loan so that the players can be paid and the club can meet its obligations this month, the three-person board issued a strongly worded statement in which their criticism of al-Fahim was only thinly veiled. The owner announced last week that £50m of finance would become available ‘within weeks’, but the date of its arrival remains uncertain. The club have no money because their share of TV revenue and the proceeds of the sales of Peter Crouch and other players, some £35m in all, has gone to pay off bank debt. It is possible that the consortium put together by chief executive Peter Storrie could yet be revived to acquire the club.
CASH CRISIS AT POMPEY WORSE THAN THOUGHT – 4/10/09
Portsmouth need £15m in the next couple of weeks to avoid financial meltdown. Revenue and Customs, the bank and local suppliers are among creditors demanding repayment of debt. Agents Pini Zahavi and Jonathan Barnett are also owed £3m. Owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim is in hospital in Dubai being treated for kidney stones. He claims to be close to securing a £50m loan from America. A Dubai source told the Sunday Times ‘It’s evident he has no money of his own and he won’t find money in the Gulf now. He no longer has the confidence of the sheikhs. He’s not a bad guy and he never really intended to cause these problems, but he loves the attention. He likes being famous and wanted to own a football club. He was a dreamer who didn’t really think what he was doing.’ Where have we heard that before? Chairman Peter Storrie has negotiated a £5m loan from the two Faraj brothers, Saudi Arabian businessmen, to keep the club afloat. They were prominent in a consortium, also involving Storrie, that was beaten to control of the club by al-Fahim. They could be willing to take a majority stake in the club.
POMPEY TO CHANGE HANDS AGAIN – 5/10/09
Portsmouth’s players and staff have still not been paid, but one reason is that a new takeover is taking place. Negotiations are under way for Sulamain al-Fahim to sell a majority stake in the club to Saudi tycoon Ali al-Faraj. Al-Fahim, who has undergone an operation for kidney stones, may retain a 10 per cent stake. Al-Fahim already has a ‘fit and proper person’ certificate in his pocket. Al-Faraj is operating through a company called Falcondrone based in the Virgin Islands. He is described as a property tycoon, but is also said to have a substantial stake in Sabic, a Saudi petrochemical conglomerate, and was linked with a bid for West Ham last month. One possible hitch, or at least source of delay, is former owner Alexandre Gaydamak. He has certain powers of veto over a sell on, while al-Faraj will only proceed if he is able to acquire Miland Development (2004) Ltd., owned by Gaydamak, which owns land around Fratton Park. If there is no resolution of the crisis, it is possible that HM Revenue and Customs could apply for a winding up order.