Report raises questions of EFL in Bury’s demise

AN independent report into the demise of Bury FC has raised serious questions over the EFL’s financial regulations.

The League One club were kicked out of the competition in August after the Shakers’ owner Steve Dale failed to provide financial guarantees to the EFL and a late takeover bid collapsed.

Last month, the EFL released a summary of a report from leading sports lawyer Jonathan Taylor QC which concluded that no ‘additional action’ from the league would have made any material difference.

But the full report has now been released, and in it Taylor raises ‘serious issues’ with the EFL regulations which contributed to Bury’s collapse.

Taylor’s report raises questions in four key areas: the suitability of the Owners and Directors Test (OAD); rules which permit the sale of clubs without new owners needing to prove financial viability; rules allowing League One and League Two clubs to rely on financial injections to stay afloat; and a lack of regulations preventing loans being taken out against stadiums and training grounds.

Taylor noted that Bury’s costs ballooned between the 2013/14 season and 2017/18 to the extent that then owner Stewart Day injected £6.65m into the club to keep it afloat during that period, £2.65m of that in 2017/18 alone.

“Whether or not this approach of relying on owner funding is sustainable or sensible is outside the scope of this review, but I would urge the EFL Board and the clubs to look very closely at this issue,” Taylor wrote.