Bradford Council will not pump any money into Bradford City Football
Club as it looks to stave off the threat of liquidation, it was
confirmed today.The Council issued a statement to the Telegraph & Argus
saying it was "not in a position to provide finances" to the club which
is continuing its fight for survival.But Council leader Council-lor
Margaret Eaton insisted that officers were investigating other ways the
Council could help the club which was yesterday granted a stay of
execution while crunch negotiations continue.As predicted in the T&A on
Wednesday, the Football League agreed to provide funding which has
allowed chief executive Julian Rhodes to continue to provide funding for
the administration.Mr Rhodes has now been granted an "exclusivity
agreement" with the administrators ruling out anyone else from coming
forward with a rival bid for the club. He is now drawing up a Company
Voluntary Arrange-ment (CVA), stating how much each of the creditors
will be paid under the terms of the offer, which will then be voted on
by the creditors before the end of the season.Discussions will now
continue with some of the key stakeholders, including finance firm
Lombard, former chairman Gordon Gibb and the Inland Revenue, ahead of
the vote.A statement issued by the club yesterday admitted: "The outcome
of the CVA is by no means certain as the major stakeholders have not as
yet committed to the proposed restructuring plans and these discussions
will continue in the next days and weeks."For the club to survive, the
CVA will need to be approved by creditors otherwise we will not be
allowed to continue in the Football League."Mr Rhodes declined to
comment at this stage on the Council's statement.It read: "We do not
want to see Bradford City go out of business and we hope a solid way
forward can be found."The Council will provide whatever support it can,
such as the help of officers to talk to different organisations, but it
is not in a position to provide finances for the club."Coun Eaton
insisted the Council would look at providing help but it needed to see a
properly-presented business case."I think Bradford City is very
important to the district and we would hate to see it fail. However, we
are the custodians of the public purse and there is a limit to what we
can legally do."But the Council statement was condemned by Labour group
leader Councillor Ian Greenwood who said he was "outraged" that he had
not been consulted."It is a disgrace that they are issuing press
releases when one party has not been consulted about it at all," he
said."I am more than happy to speak to the club should they wish to do
so. What we need to do is understand the needs of their financial
situation."Coun Greenwood said he could not say at this stage whether he
would support the Council giving financial help but said there could be
scope for a loan facility which would not cost the tax payer in the
long-run.He also criticised comments made by Council executive member
Councillor David Ward (Lib Dem, Idle) who has written to the T&A saying
the club should not receive any financial support until it improves its
work in the community (See letter, right).Coun Greenwood said: "This
sounds like an excuse for not providing help. The club has done
perfectly fine and to blame it like this is wrong."
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