Quakers takeover battle into extra time (From The Northern Echo)

Quakers takeover battle into extra time

9:56am Wednesday 1st February 2012 in Darlington FC News By Joe Willis, Regional chief reporter

THE future of Darlington Football Club was hanging by a thread last night as the entrepreneur trying to buy the club and the outgoing chairman struggled to reach agreement.

Venture capitalist Paul Wildes admitted yesterday afternoon that talks with former club chairman and principal creditor Raj Singh had broken down. However, The Northern Echo understands that “protracted negotiations” later resumed between the pair.

The breakdown left Mr Wildes looking at a “plan B” which would have involved him buying the club without reaching a settlement with the non-footballing creditors, including Mr Singh. This, though, would have breached league rules, meaning Darlington would be relegated at least one division at the start of next season as a penalty.

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Although the £50,000 given to the club by fans ten days ago runs out today, it is believed that administrator Harvey Madden will allow the club to continue in the short term while there is still hope.

Mr Madden yesterday confirmed that only one potential bidder – understood to be Mr Wildes – remained in negotiations to buy the club.

He said talks with the potential purchaser were at an advanced stage, adding: “No suitable bid has yet been agreed, but discussions are ongoing.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I am currently only talking to one interested party as no other potential purchaser has entered into negotiations.”

At noon yesterday, Mr Wildes said: “I have been trying to negotiate this for two-and-a-half weeks and it is fair to say that discussions with Mr Singh have broken down and we are exploring another option.

“The next few hours are a very sensitive time, and the most important thing is that Darlington FC, formed in 1883, still survives so that people can carry on supporting it.”

Mr Singh has invested up to £3m into the club during his three years as chairman.

Mr Wildes is asking the former chairman to write off about £2m that he is still owed.

The Northern Echo was unable to contact Mr Singh last night. However, it is understood he wants legal assurances from Mr Wildes that he will receive a share of any profit if the Neasham Road site is developed at a later date.

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman urged everyone involved to “go the extra mile and do what needed to be done to get a deal signed”.

She added: “It’s not fair on the people left keeping the show on the road at the club to drag this out any longer than necessary.”

The Football Conference confirmed that the Quakers would be relegated to the Blue Square North Division if they failed to pay off their football creditors by the end of the season.

If the club finished in the bottom four, they would be relegated two divisions to the Evo-Stik Northern Premier division.

Rumours had emerged that Newcastle Falcons were interested in buying the football club. The rugby club confirmed that talks had taken place about potentially playing some games at The Northern Echo Arena to take advantage of the bigger capacity.

However, a spokesman said there were nothing to suggestions the club might move to Darlington.