Cardiff city fear administration

Cardiff City fear administration if club loses impending court case over £5.7m debt
18:27, 25 JAN 2016 UPDATED 18:35, 25 JAN 2016
BY STEVE TUCKER
The club and Panama-registered Langston are to face off over £5.7m owed by the Bluebirds on £24m in loan notes

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Harry Trump/Getty ImagesThe main entrance at the Cardiff City StadiumThe main entrance at the Cardiff City Stadium

Cardiff City could be plunged into administration if it loses its High Court case to main creditor Langston, WalesOnline has learned.

The doomsday scenario has emerged as the club and the Panama-registered organisation prepare to face off over £5.7m still owed by the Bluebirds on £24m in loan notes taken out by then-Bluebirds’ owner Sam Hammam from Langston back in 2004.

Hammam remains the representative for Langston and new owner Vincent Tan inherited the long-standing debt when he took over at the club.

Vincent Tan applauds his Cardiff City teamVincent Tan
Four years ago, the two parties reached agreement on a £22m settlement, to be paid in the form of £15m up-front, followed by £7m in £250,000 quarterly instalments over seven years.

High Court case
The Bluebirds had been honouring that, but last year suspended payments .

Tan and the club’s hierarchy, including chairman Mehmet Dalman, have always been concerned that, in their opinion, they do not know who is behind Langston.

Action Images / Lee MillsSam Hammam
When payments stopped Hammam and Langston filed a case in the High Court to attempt to retrieve the outstanding sum which could total as much as £6.7m now with interest and when legal costs are taken into consideration.

Financial Fair Play
Sources at the club have told us that if Langston are successful and demand immediate payment up-front, which could happen, the ramifications might be severe for the Welsh club.

More Cardiff City news: How Bellamy turned down manager's job

The Bluebirds, who are currently under a transfer embargo for breaching the Football League’s Financial Fair Play regulations, could find themselves unable to settle the amount, with the prospect then of the club being plunged into administration or even liquidation.

Ken Choo, Vincent Tan and Mehmet DalmanThe Cardiff City hierarchy - chief executive Ken Choo, owner Vincent Tan and chairman Mehmet Dalman
If the path of administration is followed, the first penalty would be to see the League dock Russell Slade’s Bluebirds 12 points this season, writing off any hopes of Premier League promotion and, in fact, putting them in danger of relegation to League One.

Cardiff have not yet been informed of the actual date of the hearing with Langston believed to have asked for a summary judgement to be made to expedite matters, but the case could now be heard as early as next week.

That would be a worry.

Like tan is going to risk all his investment and not pay it ,it will get paid one way or another

I thought it was Tans debt not the clubs

Sounds like a warning shot to me from the club, either agree to a smaller settlement or get bugger all.

Isaacs would get what he deserves aswell fu.k all

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-fear-administration-club-10787626

No they do not fear administration. This is total scaremongering by WoL / Eggo as usual. The person who would lose the most if we went into administration is Tan, as he would be in the list with all other creditors - HE WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

Who knows what tan has got planned, he could send the club into admin. The money's nothing to him, outa spite he could do it.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-fear-administration-club-10787626

No they do not fear administration. This is total scaremongering by WoL / Eggo as usual. The person who would lose the most if we went into administration is Tan, as he would be in the list with all other creditors - HE WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

SPOT ON.

Does it day the club willut itself I to adminstration?

I read that as saying if they lose and refuse to pay up then LANGSTON would call for the club to be put into administration as a creditor requesting payment.

what would Tan gain from administration?

Does it day the club willut itself I to adminstration?

I read that as saying if they lose and refuse to pay up then LANGSTON would call for the club to be put into administration as a creditor requesting payment.

what would Tan gain from administration?

Just not paying Lang to prove a point/get one over Sam.
Tan could take the hit. In all probability this won't happen, just scaremongering, but who knows.

More absolute bollux from Tucker...The echo lost all credibility years ago

Tucker has to be one of my he worst journalists ever at the echo!!!

Has no contacts at the club so just makes things up...not sure how is bosses put up with him..crap journalist crap paper

Hypothetically... Could we go into administration on Friday and re buy the club on Monday. He is the only secured creditor so gets paid by the new company for example "Langston 2" trading under the name "cardiff city" and pays himself the credit note from the new co, leaving all the other non secured creditors shagged.

The only down side, we lose 12 points.....

I'm not a 100% sure but if we did go into administration then Tan should be fairly secure as he has a mortgage over just about everything at CCFC.

I don't know if the 2013 agreement was secured or not but if it was unsecured then Langston will be well down the priority list.

The club should haul Media Fails and Tucker over the coals for publishing such sensationalist drivel. They've stopped to new lows with this one.

The club should haul Media Fails and Tucker over the coals for publishing such sensationalist drivel. They've stopped to new lows with this one.

SPOT ON

Hypothetically... Could we go into administration on Friday and re buy the club on Monday. He is the only secured creditor so gets paid by the new company for example "Langston 2" trading under the name "cardiff city" and pays himself the credit note from the new co, leaving all the other non secured creditors shagged.

The only down side, we lose 12 points.....

Langston are unsecured would get nothing if we went into administration

The same scare story we were being given by Ridsdale and co almost a decade ago - can't believe all this crap has resurfaced after the club has paid about three quarters of the debt.

The club should haul Media Fails and Tucker over the coals for publishing such sensationalist drivel. They've stopped to new lows with this one.

I'm proud that we have never been in admin but looking at all the crap going on at our club I'm beginning to feel it could be a good thing as it will get rid of most of it.

It is coming out of the admin that worries me.

Hypothetically... Could we go into administration on Friday and re buy the club on Monday. He is the only secured creditor so gets paid by the new company for example "Langston 2" trading under the name "cardiff city" and pays himself the credit note from the new co, leaving all the other non secured creditors shagged.

The only down side, we lose 12 points.....

Langston are unsecured would get nothing if we went into administration

Not quite true. Under the new Football League insolvency rules unsecured creditors are guaranteed a minimum dividend of 25p in the £ if the club is sold on out of Administration.

Hypothetically... Could we go into administration on Friday and re buy the club on Monday. He is the only secured creditor so gets paid by the new company for example "Langston 2" trading under the name "cardiff city" and pays himself the credit note from the new co, leaving all the other non secured creditors shagged.

The only down side, we lose 12 points.....

Langston are unsecured would get nothing if we went into administration

Not quite true. Under the new Football League insolvency rules unsecured creditors are guaranteed a minimum dividend of 25p in the £ if the club is sold on out of Administration.

Keith, You've ruined Tans mates day

Like tan is going to risk all his investment and not pay it ,it will get paid one way or another

On that we agree Wez Tan just likes games and to be in control.

Hypothetically... Could we go into administration on Friday and re buy the club on Monday. He is the only secured creditor so gets paid by the new company for example "Langston 2" trading under the name "cardiff city" and pays himself the credit note from the new co, leaving all the other non secured creditors shagged.

The only down side, we lose 12 points.....

Langston are unsecured would get nothing if we went into administration

Not quite true. Under the new Football League insolvency rules unsecured creditors are guaranteed a minimum dividend of 25p in the £ if the club is sold on out of Administration.

That's why you just have to do it 3 times to water it down to 1p in the bound

Tan is indeed a control freak,and he knows he has total control of the club.

If he is about to bite the bullet you can guarantee everything under his control (just about everything )will be sold,we all know the day will come,it's just when he decides to pull the trigger.
He will not go quietly out the back door that's for sure,and may leave us in a terminal state.

Tucker will be asking slade questions in interviews in the week as if he's his mate yet makes shit up weekly like this

Rumour and speculation based on things coming to a head between the club and SH/Langston saga.


It will blow over. 100%.

Tan has enough money to pay. He's just being canny.

Clarke's Pie in the sky!!!

I think there's probably more to this than we know about, Tan wouldn't be going to court and paying the extra costs if (like it sounds) he doesn't have a leg to stand on...

My worry about this and I'm not sure how FFP works but if Tan is not allowed to put anymore capital into the club due to FFP perhaps the club can't afford to pay the full amount in one payment? Anyone know how the FFP works in this regard it would put my mind at rest.

Only one reason for VT refusing to pay the balance after paying 75% of the debt, and that is to try and get the court to disclose everything about Langston and Sam, so if it is found that Sam is Langston, then maybe VT thinks he can get all his money back, or he just wants to be vindictive and prove that Sam is Langston and get it out in the open

Ps. There is nothing in the ffp rules that say an owner cannot pay off a debt, only that they cannot invest over a certain amount into the club!