American's take pole position
Last updated : 09 October 2003 By The Chairman
The two American based businessmen who paid the running costs for October are now in pole position to take on the job of ensuring a long term future for the club. The two men still wish to remain anonymous but are believed to be of Jewish faith and have made their fortunes from real estate and communications.
Chairman Barry Chaytow said, “There is still a lot of work ahead, but I’ve been confident about these people from the start. You tend to get time-wasters coming forward, but they have shown their commitment by putting up money straight away. They came over from the States last week, watched the game against Stockport and a few days later their cheque was available. Now one of them will spend time at the club to get a fuller picture. Hopefully we can move on from there – it’s a very pleasing step forward.”
The couple are believed to have tried to buy a football club a couple of years ago and they have while the end of October to have their plan in place. Jon Newell of PFK issued a word of warning by saying, “We selected these people because they are the best chance of a positive return for creditors – as an insolvency practice, that’s what we have to do. The fact they have provided this money obviously makes them credible buyers, but we still need a much more detailed assessment.”
It is also believed that they have the where-with-all to stump up the required £1.2 million to cover the cost of paying football creditors and creating a new company as it is a stipulation of the Football League. One thing’s for sure - Latics supporters can sleep easier than they have been able to do of late.