Owls have 28 days to pay £1.4m bill
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY have been given a 28-day stay of execution by a High Court judge in order to find new owners and pay off an outstanding tax bill of £1.4m.
The League One club had been facing a winding-up petition from HM Revenue & Customs for £600,000, but the judge revealed in court that the figure had more than doubled.
The judge confirmed that the Owls were trading insolvently and have been granted an extension due to exceptional circumstances.
Wednesday had hoped to broker a deal on Tuesday with one of four suitors, including Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric, but time ran out, and chief executive Nick Parker urged investors to come forward and end the club’s £27m debt crisis.
He said: “The one glimmer of hope I can give to fans is that there are other people out there who understand how important Wednesday is. It’s now time for those people to step forward.”
Rotherham businessman Spencer Fearn and Sheffield accountant John Roddison front one of the four bids for Wednesday, who owe the Co-operative Bank £23.5m.
Another bid comes from a group led by former Wednesday director Mick Wright and the others come from a UK-based businessman and a Middle Eastern group.