NEW HOPE FOR RAMS’ SURVIVAL

STRICKEN Derby County could be on the brink of salvation after US-based investors lodged a £28m offer for the club.

Adam and Colin Binnie, founder of Carlisle Capital, had attempted to strike a deal with former owner Mel Morris last year but walked away when negotiations stalled.

Now they are back with a bid that - if successful - could see the Championship club exit administration.

The news comes at the end of a tumultuous week for the Rams, who are a reported £83m in debt, bottom of the Championship after a 21-point deduction and set to run out of money next month.

After the EFL demanded to know how Derby would be funded until the end of the season, the club’s administrators, Quantuma, released a lengthy statement in which they stated that “three scenarios” had been presented to the ruling body.

Quantuma also said that compensation claims brought by Middlesbrough and Wycombe Wanderers were deterring interested parties from making a bid.

This brought a withering response from both teams.

In an open letter to Quantuma, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson, right, who says his side were denied a play-off place by Derby’s overspending in the 2018-19 campaign, accused the administrators of making “misrepresentations to the media”.

H added: “We can only conclude that you are choosing to use ourselves, the EFL and Wycombe as scapegoats for your failure to conclude what should have been the relatively simple task of taking Derby out of administration.”

Rob Couhig, the Wycombe owner whose side would have avoided relegation to League One had Derby’s financial misdemeanours been punished by a points deduction last season, said Quantuma had “tried to turn us into the bad guys”. The EFL also weighed in, describing the situation as “much more complex” than Derby were attempting to portray and gave a February 1 deadline for proof of funding. Extinction seemed a distinct possibility, and remains a threat, but the bid by the Binnie brothers on Friday has significantly changed the landscape.

The New England-based pair are not worried by the claims from Middlesbrough and Wycombe, who are thought to be demanding less than £5m each. A compromise remains the most likely outcome.

Confident

What is less clear is how the £28m will cover Derby’s debts. The Rams owe £29m to HMRC, plus around £15m to football and trade creditors.

Whilst Quantuma are confident that the monies owed to HMRC and trade creditors can be negotiated down to 25p in the pound, all football creditors must be paid in full as per EFL rules.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that a £20m loan to the club from MSD Holdings is secured against Pride Park, which is currently owned by Morris.

It was previously assumed that this would be paid off when the stadium was bought by a new owner as part of a takeover deal. However, it is being reported that the Binnie bid does not include the stadium, raising the question of how that debt will be either serviced or repaid.

One possible outcome - and the most positive from a Derby perspective - is that the Binnie offer prompts other interested parties to show their hand.

Andy Appleby, a former Derby chairman and owner of US marketing firm General Sports Worldwide, was described by a Derby insider as the “only credible” bidder earlier this year, but has yet to make a move.

And Mike Ashley, the former Newcastle United owner who sold the Magpies to Saudi investment vehicle PIF for £300m in October, has also been in contact with Quantuma.