Former Sports Minister and Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe has welcomed a move by Bradford Bulls to come clean about the extent of its financial crisis.
The Telegraph & Argus exclusively revealed on Saturday how the Super League club needs to raise £1.25 million to stay afloat, rather than the £500,000 initially thought to be required to pay off its liabilities.
Bulls director Stephen Coulby has now also confirmed the club is losing £100,000 a month, a situation first reported by the T&A two months ago.
Mr Sutcliffe said although he was sad to learn a far higher sum was needed to ensure the Bulls’ future, it would now be possible to try to solve the club’s financial woes.
In April fans raised about £500,000 for the club’s Quest for Survival campaign, which was used to pay bills, including a substantial tax demand by Revenue and Customs and players’ and staff wages.
At that time the T&A reported on Mr Sutcliffe’s call for the club to be honest with its fans about the true nature of its financial plight. Speaking at the weekend, Mr Sutcliffe said he had written to then chairman Peter Hood asking for the club to be open about the total amount of money needed but had received no response.
He said: “My concern was money was being collected but we didn’t know what the true extent of the problem was. We hope the new team can now rally round and get resources in there. It’s sad that it’s worse than we thought but at least we know where we are now.”
Mr Coulby has said he is confident funds can be raised to avoid administration. Following an independent financial review of the Bulls’ finances, he said a significant sum, understood to be around £500,000, was in the pipeline from a potential investor, but at least another £725,000 was needed.
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