Administration fears as Stirling ordered to pay £41,000 tax bill

Published on Friday 15 May 2009 23:11

STIRLING Albion could be forced into administration by HM Revenue and Customs if they fail to make good on thousands of pounds of unpaid tax.

A first notice of petition to recoup a reported 41,000 from the Irn-Bru Second Division side was agreed at Stirling Sheriff Court this week.

The news comes ten days after fans launched a campaign to buy the cash-strapped club. An HMRC spokesman said: "An application for a winding-up order is the last resort. There is always ample opportunity for any business to clear their debt."

The club reportedly have until next Thursday to respond to the order. The spokesman added: "There is still the scope for any business to pay off their debt prior to the winding-up order being granted. If payment isn't made by the date the court has set, winding-up will take place."

Stirling Albion owner Peter McKenzie has previously given his backing to plans by supporters' group BuyStirlingAlbion to make the team Britain's first 100 per cent fans-owned club.

Membership costs 40, with the Trust aiming to recruit 20,000 members. It has received high-profile backing from former snooker world champion Stephen Hendry, Scotland internationalists Gary and Steven Caldwell, and television chef Nick Nairn.

Those who buy membership will not be a shareholder in the football club but will be a member of The Stirling Albion Supporters Trust, who will be the sole shareholder in the football club.

When it launched, Stirling chairman McKenzie said: "I have been ploughing a pretty lone furrow over recent years to keep the club in existence and any assistance is to be greatly welcomed."

He added: "Once the campaign is under way I will be happy to sit down and discuss the way ahead to ensure that professional football continues at Stirling Albion. These are difficult economic times but I am hopeful that the Stirling public and fans far and wide will respond favourably."

Paul Goodwin, who is helping spearhead the campaign, said a thousand fans had already bought a stake in the scheme along with 30 businesses, who had purchased a 75 stake.

He said: "This news reinforces how serious the situation at Stirling Albion is. It's hand-to-mouth at the club. This is a strange situation for us because if the club went into administration we could bid to take it out of administration, but we have to wait and see what happens."

Supporters are sure to be concerned at recent developments. It was the threat to wind up that marked the beginning of the end for Gretna last year. The Raydale club owed 600,000 to HM Revenue and Customs, and the pursuit of this outstanding money tipped the club into administration.

Albion, nicknamed the Binos, were founded in 1945. Their home ground, Forthbank, was constructed by Stirling Council in 1992 after Annfield, the club's previous home, became beyond repair. A housing development now stands on the site of the old ground.

Annfield had been sold to the council in 1981 when the football club was on the verge of going out of business, and the ground was rented to the club.