One of the oldest professional football teams in the South-West, Torquay United, has seen its ownership story take a new turn with the appointment of Begbies Traynor administrators, putting the Plainmoor outfit formally under administration.
With a long history stretching back to 1899, Torquay was in the Football League for eight decades before being demoted to the former Conference in 2007. The team did make a comeback to the EFL after two years, however in 2018 they fell once more.
Ever then, both on and off the pitch, the sad tale of a slow decline has been told.
Gary Johnson, a former manager of Bristol City and Yeovil, led the Gulls back to the National League after they were relegated to the sixth division during his five and a half years in charge. However, the Gulls had a terrible season and were relegated to the sixth division once more.
On February 22, former owner Clarke Osborne—who had promised to construct a new stadium—announced his plan to leave the team, and Johnson resigned as manager.
The National League South then took ten points away from Torquay United, which put them in a dangerous situation with five games left and only five points above the relegation zone.
“Scott Kippax, Neil Vinnicombe, and Simon Haskew of Begbies Traynor have been appointed as joint administrators of Torquay United AFC Limited,” the club announced in a statement. Stephens Scown LLP’s Robin Koolhoven provides them with legal advice.
According to the administrators, the appointment is a step in the right direction towards ownership transfer. The administrators plan to declare that the Club’s future has been assured with another announcement sometime in the following two weeks. In the interim, creditors can send any questions to secretary@torquayunited.com and will be notified.
An additional “supporter update” from Plainmoor verified that the team had
“received firm bids from parties interested in purchasing the Club, and it is hoped that the Club will then be in a position to confirm that its long-term future has been secured.” Another announcement is planned for the upcoming two weeks.
With the claimed goal of establishing a “community-owned” club for the future, a group of local businesspeople led by Torquay United Supporters Trust (TUST) announced last week that they would be putting out a bid to purchase Torquay United.
Even though it is the only bid that has been made publicly as of right now, Torquay United quickly highlighted that many bids were being considered in their own statement following the TUST announcement.
There are still a few more turns and twists in the struggle for survival, both on and off the pitch.
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