Council football club deal ‘complicated’
BURY council will continue looking at the possibility of buying the town’s football club – but the leader has said he ‘wouldn’t bet’ on the local authority owning it any time soon.
A public report to cabinet revealed the council is engaging in discussions over potential options to secure the future of Bury FC, which went into administration and was subsequently expelled from the Football League.
The local authority has been approached by a consortium of local businessmen who are seeking to acquire the football club with a view to returning it into the football pyramid and using the Gigg Lane stadium for their home fixtures, according to the town hall report. Councillors were told these discussions are ongoing and any proposals will be subject to relevant financial and legal due diligence.
But council leader David Jones cast doubts over the acquisition given the current stretch on resources due to the coronavirus crisis.
He said: “What we’ve done is agree to allow the officers of the council to continue exploring working with this consortium. The council officers will continue to work with the consortium to see if anything can be done to save Gigg Lane. But it’s an uphill struggle to make sure that our finances, or council taxpayers’ finances, are not at risk at this time of emergency with the virus crisis when we are particularly stretched and trying to keep people alive. We know the cost implications to the council on the virus alone will soon reach millions of pounds in the coming months.”
Local authorities can borrow money at more favourable interest rates, but there are strict rules dictating what they can borrow money for.
Coun Jones added: “We’ve asked the consortium for assurances. We hope to get somewhere in a week or two. In which case it would come back to cabinet with an update. I’d like to think it’s possible, but if I was a betting man, I wouldn’t put money on the council owning that football club in the coming year because it’s complicated.”
A further report will be presented to cabinet to provide an update on the discussions and present any proposals that may arise.