Company Rescue lay down the law with the following statement:
This comes as the Manchester based club were served with papers this weekend, relating to an Administration Order concerning debts of over £600k owed to landlord Simon Blitz via company Brassbank.
A court hearing is due for attendance on Friday 6th March which could make or break the club. If the debt cannot be paid in full, red flags appear and administrators may be appointed there and then.
Sources say potential administrators have been approached, with Blitz keen to provide the backing through administration. An administration would serve the club a 12-point penalty.
The club also had a Winding Up Petition filed against it from HMRC regarding unpaid tax debts in the region of £70k and staff were informed that they would be paid their monthly salary a week late.
The north stand, named after ex-manager, Joe Royle was redeveloped and as of 2015 opened. It included a gym and the Oldham Event Centre however it is currently closed due to a dispute between the club, landlord and council and underlying safety concerns led by the local safety advisory group. Lack of CCTV and the presence of damaged doors means the stand should not be open on match days. However, the match day safety certificate says otherwise.
A fan group, ‘Push The Boundary’ have published details of an email sent to the club outlining their concerns about the current troubles. They clearly state that the current ownership taking the club into its 125th year is a ‘step too far’. This is utterly devastating for the supporters of this club and there has to be someone who takes responsibility for this within the club. Goading a landlord to put us into administration, not paying rent and a refuse to engage in talks regarding the north stand have left us in a powerless situation.
The club has fallen into financial trouble before. In 2004, Simon Blitz, Simon Corney and Danny Gazal rescued the club from administration through a new company, Brass Bank. Gazal and Blitz then sold their shares of the club to Corney in 2011, leaving Corney as owner and chairman. However, Gazal and Blitz still own Boundary Park via their part in BrassBank. Abdallah Lemsagam took over the club in January 2018 but led them into relegation after just four months. Blitz’s Laywer, Jonathon Crook addressed the matter on BBC Radio Manchester: “I’m afraid [the threat of administration] isn’t nonsense. The club owes a lot of money and apparently doesn’t want to pay it and isn’t offering any solutions.”