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Chester City FC (2004) Ltd has been wound up in the High Court today.
The club failed to meet the outstanding £26,000 tax demand, with the court having little option but to wind the club up. Owner Stephen Vaughan Jnr does have a right to appeal the order, but appears unlikely to do so as the club was not represented in court. The move now clears the way for Chester council to assign new leases on the Deva Stadium to fans group CFU to create a new 'phoenix' club.
In other court news, Cardiff have been given an additional 56 days to settle their outstanding tax debt, with the sale of two plots of land at their new stadium expected to meet the sum, and Southend have been given another 35 days to settle their £200,000 figure.
On Cardiff, HMRC's representative in the court called the club 'plainly insolvent' and that they had only paid half their £1.7million debt by defaulting on their regular monthly obligations. The total tax debt was claimed to now be £1.9million, with the court Registrar remarking that the club would be given a third chance as the law allows. For Southend, chairman Ron Martin has finally admitted non-payment of player wages and the PFA loan that the press revealed yesterday. He says the loan will be cleared in just five weeks, but doesn't reveal how he intends to do that.
Meanwhile Farsley Celtic's Administrator has disbanded the club after the only bidders for the club failed to agree the sums needed to keep the side going. A new club is expected to join the Unibond League for next season.
