WANDERERS are celebrating after being granted a 14-day adjournment by the High Court to complete their takeover.

The club were faced with a winding up petition from HMRC over an unpaid tax bill worth £3million but lobbied the court to give them extra time to get a deal over the line.

Sports Shield, the consortium led by ex-Wanderers striker Dean Holdsworth, are now in a position to buy the club from Eddie Davies although the details of their bid must first be approved by the owner, and then the Football League.

Their bid has now been revealed as a joint venture with accountant Bruce Gordon, who runs venture capital fund Thames Valley Ltd and used to work for Deloitte.

Paperwork on the deal was signed and completed just minutes before today’s hearing in London, which led to a brief delay as a witness statement was read.

 

Had an adjournment not been granted then Wanderers would have had to seek a short adjournment to file for administration, which would have carried an instant 12-point penalty and meant almost certain relegation from the Championship.

HMRC had lobbied for liquidation – which would have meant the sale of all assets owned by the club, including the Macron Stadium itself.

Wanderers were represented by Hillary Stonefrost and also had Trevor Birch and Richard Gee present at the hearing on behalf of the board.

They will now head back to the High Court on March 7, by which time a takeover should be complete.

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A club statement said: "Bolton Wanderers can announce that the club has today been given an adjournment of 14 days by the High Court in order to conclude a deal with the Sports Shield consortium in taking ownership of the club.

"The club were represented by Trevor Birch and board member Richard Gee at the hearing in London on Monday."

Trevor Birch, advisor to the board and owner at Bolton Wanderers said: “Whilst this continues to be a challenging time for everyone at the club, we are confident that the adjournment will give us the necessary time to conclude a transfer of ownership of the club, subject to approval from the Football League."