Fan power served Crystal Palace well again today, with season ticket-holders bolstering an overwhelming majority of creditors agreeing to the proposed company voluntary agreement (CVA).
It clears the way for the club’s takeover by the CPFC2010 consortium, with Palace expected to be able to sign new players immediately.
A brief, formal meeting was held in the players’ lounge at Selhurst Park this morning attended by an estimated 100 people, according to initial reports by the Crystal Palace Supporters’ Trust.
Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle revealed that he had received more than 7,000 proxy voting forms, most believed to be from season ticket-holders.
The CVA – company voluntary arrangement, necessary for creditors to accept repayment terms for debts accrued by the club’s previous management – was agreed by 91.3 per cent of creditors.
Only the taxman, HM Revenue and Customs, voted against the CVA proposal, which required a 75 per cent majority to be accepted.
The formalities were all concluded within less than half an hour, the meeting breaking up with a warm round of applause.
Fears that previous owner Simon Jordan, one of the major creditors, might object to the CVA, proved unfounded as creditors voted to accept the 1.9p in the pound offer and other terms.
The Football League will now wait 28 days for appeals against the decision, and is expected to hold meetings with the club’s new owners to confirm them as “fit and proper persons”.
The League’s embargo on Palace signing new players will formally be lifted in 28 days’ time, although the club’s new manager, George Burley, is expected to be allowed to make signings in the meantime and wait for registration at the end of July and in time for the new season.
CPFC2010 had made it clear that if the CVA was not accepted, they would be unable to go through with their takeover.
Under the CVA, CPFC2010 agrees to give £250,000 to the administrators to give to preferred creditors and then distributed among the unsecured creditors.
Other terms of the agreement approved by the meeting include:
- CPFC2010 provides a loan to allow the administrators to meet the club’s trading liabilities, not including wages for players and employees.
- CPFC2010’s £4 million purchase of Selhurst Park includes terms where Selhurst Park Ltd, the former owner of the ground who went into administration, waives its right to nearly £500,000 in rent payable during the period of administration.
- CPFC2010 will take on a number of liabilities of the club once the sale agreement goes through, including £114,000 to football creditors (a move aimed at satisfying the Football League) and the players’ entitlements up to the end of their contracts, worth about £4.4 million.
