City takeover deal hits serious setback as deadline looms

HOPES for a deal which would secure Cork City’s immediate future have receded with the consortium bidding to take over the club from current owner Tom Coughlan saying it now looks “increasingly unlikely” that such a deal will take place.

Although it’s understood that significant progress had been made over the last couple of days, it appears that a substantial new debt emerged as late as last night in respect of professional fees owed by the club’s holding company. Some estimates earlier this week had put the club’s overall indebtedness at around €900,000.

Yesterday, the Quintas Group, on behalf of the consortium of Peter Gray, Michael O’Connell and the supporters’ group FORAS, announced that it was setting a deadline of noon today to finalise the takeover deal. However, they added that the prospect of such a deal happening was now increasingly unlikely.

A statement from Quintas fleshed out other issues which they claimed were jeopardising the takeover: “According to McGuire Desmond Solicitors, acting for the group, a lack of verification and certainty regarding particular pledges that may have been made in securing possible loans to the club are proving to be a serious impediment to the deal progressing.”

The statement went on: “There are also issues with new debts being uncovered during the course of due diligence as well as doubts over the title to shares within the club. The group also feel that there is a lack of information coming from the current owners of the club.”

Discussions between representatives of Tom Coughlan and the consortium were ongoing last night and expected to continue this morning, but it was clear that the optimism of recent days – during which Cork City survived a winding-up order in the High Court and had a decision deferred on its application to play in the Premier Division – has overnight been replaced by what one source close to the process called “genuine pessimism”.

“A lot of positive work has been done,” said the source, “but a lot [has] still to fall into place and one or two deal-breakers have to be resolved.”

On Monday, the Independent Club Licensing Committee is due to make a final decision on City’s place in the league. In the event of the takeover bid collapsing and City failing to retain its Premier Division status, the focus will turn to the application by FORAS for a position for a reconstituted club in the First Division.