Swindon Town seeks new bail out

When the football club came out of administration in 2002, it agreed to pay £1m within five years to creditors.

It wants shareholders, first in a new holding company owned by Sir Seton Wills and then in the club, to buy shares in two separate rights issues.

The club was due to pay £100,000 in June this year, but this has not been paid and has been deferred.

It says when it made its financial agreement, it was thought that a new stadium would be in place.

"We couldn't speak with everyone until everything [with the holding company] has been resolved"
Sandy Gray
Finance director

"If this was the case, as part of the agreement for the financing of the new stadium and the restructuring of the club, the £1m would have been settled," a spokesman for the club said.

He added that the club had been in negotiation with the administrator for "some months" and had "kept all parties informed".

Sandy Gray, the club's finance director, rejected allegations that fans had been kept in the dark.

"We couldn't speak with everyone until everything [with the holding company] had been resolved," she said.

"All agreed commitments had been met at the time of the AGM."

Local opposition

The club is trying to redevelop its town centre site but the proposed improvements have hit problems with Swindon Borough Council.

The club has already had one proposed development at Shaw Community Forest turned down.

Town then announced it wanted to redevelop the current site in partnership with the council, which owns the land the County Ground is built on.

In a separate development, Nationwide Building Society has announced it will end its sponsorship deal with the club at the end of this season.

Ms Gray said: "We are in negotiations with someone already. They are very keen to do a sponsorship deal in the football league."

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