Portsmouth exit administration as Chainrai takes charge



Portsmouth's long suffering fans finally have something to cheer about


Portsmouth have come out of administration after a deal was agreed with former owner Alexander Gaydamak to safeguard the club's future.

On Friday the club had claimed they were on the brink of ceasing trading because Gaydamak had refused to sign a deal to sell to Balram Chainrai.
But Gaydamak said late on Saturday that a new agreement had been agreed.
Portsmouth later announced the sale to Chainrai, also an ex-owner, and added that they were out of administration.
Chainrai, a Hong Kong-based businessman, became Pompey's fourth owner inside a year when he assumed control of the club in February 2010 before putting them in administration soon after.
"The administrators of Portsmouth City Football Club Ltd are pleased to announce that negotiations between the various parties concerning the sale of the club have now been satisfactorily concluded," read a statement on the club's website.
"Accordingly, the club has now been formally sold by the joint administrators, Messrs UHY Hacker Young, and will continue to trade outside of administration.


"The administrators would like to thank Mr Gaydamak for his co-operation and assistance in securing the future of the club and acknowledges that he has played an integral part in delivering its survival."
The saga surrounding the ownership of Portsmouth, who won the FA Cup in 2008, began in August 2009 when Gaydamak sold the club to Sulaiman Al Fahim.
Two months later Al Al Faraj become the new owner when he acquired 90% of the shares from Al Fahim.
Three weeks after that Chainrai lent Al Faraj £17m but the off-pitch turbulence continued as Avram Grant replaced Paul Hart as manager, the club failed several times to pay its players and HM Revenue & Customs issued a winding-up order over tax issues.
In February 2010 Chainrai seized the club's assets before placing the club in administration with debts estimated to be about £120m.
The club subsequently had nine points deducted for going into administration, were relegated from the Premier League and in June appointed a new boss in Steve Cotterill.
In August Portsmouth survived an attempt by HM Revenue & Customs to block a Company Voluntary Agreement, which could have prevented the club exiting administration.
As recently as Friday the club claimed it appeared "likely to close" after a row over £2.2m owed to Gaydamak saw talks break down.
However, on Saturday it was announced Portsmouth would pay Gaydamak £2.5m in instalments over the next five years and the saga was finally concluded late on Saturday when Chainrai resumed control of the club.
The club's administrators confirmed a deal worth 20p in the pound to unsecured creditors has also been agreed.
The south coast outfit currently lie 13th in the Championship, the second tier of English football.



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