Sources: Critical Huddersfield Town administration update as two groups open takeover talks
Huddersfield Town are considering pre-pack administration which would see their debts written off for an incoming new owner, sources have told Football Insider.
The club – who are six points from safety in the Championship – will be subject to a 12-point penalty if they enter administration before next Thursday (23 March), or next season if the call is made after that date.
A well-placed source has told this site that the club are in talks with two groups regarding a potential takeover, and a would-be new owner would give the green light before any insolvency procedure is actioned.
It has been reported elsewhere that Rene Neelissen, owner of Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, and an unnamed American group are the parties interested in taking over the Terriers.
Pre-pack administration would see Huddersfield enter administration momentarily before a takeover deal, which would be at a pre-agreed price with the administrators, is signed off.
In this scenario, the new owners would inherit only Huddersfield’s assets and not their considerable debts, while the club’s creditors would be paid a dividend from the sale.
A clean sale of the club, by contrast, would see a new majority investor swerve a points deduction but take ownership of the club’s liabilities as well as its assets.
Huddersfield were contacted for comment.
The club are currently under a transfer embargo after they failed to submit a copy of their annual accounts before the EFL’s statutory deadline.
Phil Hodkinson still owns 75 per cent of Huddersfield despite having stepped down as chairman in November 2021 following several of his other businesses going into administration.
After that juncture, former outright owner Dean Hoyle – who still owns a 25 per cent stake – committed to financing the club for the foreseeable future.
In May last year – the day of Huddersfield’s play-off final defeat to Nottingham Forest – it was reported that Hoyle had agreed a deal to regain full control of the club.
That was before he confirmed last October that he was stepping back from running the club because of an ongoing illness, although it was announced that he would continue to provide funding.
Around that time, new managing director Dave Baldwin said that Hodgkinson and Hoyle were on the brink of agreeing a deal, but no update has been given since that juncture.
Baldwin oversaw the appointment of Neil Warnock for a second stint as the club’s manager in February.
The 74-year-old led the Terriers to a 2-1 win over Birmingham City in his first match back in charge but has picked up just two points from the next five matches.
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