Dundee FC administrator Bryan Jackson has warned that “there is no real plan B” as the Dark Blues kick-off the biggest week in their 118-year history.
Obstacles to survivalSpinning the coin, Mr Jackson can see a route to survival, with the Dark Blues having to wait until the end of this season before finally coming out of administration.
“Let’s say we get it through, there are 28 days for people to object but, hopefully, there is no objection or court case,” he added.
“During that time, I will start adjudicating on claims so that I can pay out the dividend.
“I am still the administrator and the club continues under my control, with me controlling the bank account.
“I would be paying the wages and, hopefully, some of the professional costs that have been accrued.
“I would probably still be there tidying things up for another three months.
“We would then get to the end of the season and hopefully Dundee would be out of administration then.
“There are sometimes things that keep you there, but I am hoping that anything I can’t resolve quickly I can assign back to the club so I can finish the job.
“I will then resign as administrator and the bank account would then revert back to the club. That would be the signal that the club is now on its own.”
It is understood one of the hurdles Mr Jackson has faced is that HMRC are claiming unfair prejudice that players Dundee sacked are not being included in the CVA equation, instead being treated separately as “football debt.”
The dismissed management team of Gordon Chisholm and Billy Dodds will be treated as normal creditors.
However, Mr Jackson’s hands are tied on the players’ issue because to concur with Scottish Football League licensing rules, he needs to either pay them in full or reach an agreement with them.
He has been trying to do the latter, consulting with the SFL and players’ union boss Fraser Wishart, and hopes to settle post-CVA.
Another obstacle has been the privately expressed views of some creditors that they are concerned Dundee may be holding back funds that could have gone into the CVA potsuch as the £150,000 fee from Wolves for the sale of Leigh Griffiths and the money from Sky for televising the recent Scottish Cup tie against Motherwellto spend post administration.
However, Mr Jackson does not accept criticism on that score.
“The Leigh Griffiths money is required for working capitalit is part of our budget going forward,” he said.
“My answer to that would be that the money is requiredas is the £82,000 from the Motherwell cup gamebecause we have both won and lost in some of the cash-flow areas.”
No league championship win, cup final victory or European adventure beats tomorrow’s meeting of creditors at Dens Park in terms of importance.
Mr Jackson will gather those who are due money from the administration-hit club together to try to vote through a Creditors’ Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), with a 75% share of credit value needed to secure the positive result he wants.
Even as he packs his briefcase and heads to the ground, though, Mr Jackson will not feel able to confidently predict the outcome.
A ‘yes’ vote will ensure a futurealbeit a challenging onefor Dundee and hope of an exit from administration at the end of the season.
A ‘no’ vote will, according to Mr Jackson, lead to imminent liquidation. The stakes are that high.
While former board members Calum Melville and Bob Brannan, as well as stadium owner John Bennett, are expected to support the CVA, there are others, in particular Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, who are predicted to withhold their backing.
Mr Jackson himself labelled the offer he is about to make to the creditors, which Courier Sport understands to be six pence in the pound, as “very disappointing”.
However, with the £150,000 from the Dundee Football Club Supporters’ Society all Mr Jackson has to call upon, that is what will be on the table tomorrow.
“It looks like it could be 50-50 as to whether it is going to go through or not. I am nervous,” he admitted.
“If it doesn’t go through, there is no real plan B,” he said.
“If that happens, then we have a CVA that has failed and we are still in administration.
“We can modify the CVA proposals, but quite frankly if people vote against first time around I can’t see them changing their minds later on.
“I can’t see that being an option. So if there is a vote against, I see a time clock that says, ‘oh, wait a minute, are we running out of money because we have incurred all these costs?’
“There would be no new investment because the CVA has not been approved and you still have the players to account for.
“How can we pay the players? Well, we can’t.
“So you are actually looking at liquidation and, as I have said, I don’t have a plan B.
“The realistic prospect is that if it fails then Dundee will go into liquidation shortly afterwards.”