Bolton Wanderers Sale Latest
Bolton given more time to pay 2.2 million pound tax bill
Bolton Wanderers have been given more time to pay a 2.2 million pound tax bill after lawyers told a specialist judge in the High Court that significant progress'' had been made in plans to sell the club.
Tax authority officials have asked for Bolton - who slipped to the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday after losing 2-1 at Leeds - to be wound up after complaining that the club had not paid a £2.2 million bill.
But Registrar Clive Jones refused to grant a winding-up application by HM Revenue and Customs at a High Court hearing in London on Monday.
Mr Jones said the case would be reviewed in two weeks.
Barrister Hilary Stonefrost told Mr Jones that significant progress'' had been madetowards getting to the end of this process''.
A lot of progress has been made over the last two weeks.''
She said Football League bosses were monitoring developments, and added: The Football League has had a very careful look at what is proposed and set out conditions on how this should proceed.''
A Bolton spokesman said after the hearing: The club have received conditional approval to the transfer of ownership from the Football League.
The board would again like to thank all staff at the club for their loyalty and unfaltering commitment to the cause through this incredibly difficult period.''
Bolton bosses last month said efforts were being made to sell the club to the Sports Shield Consortium - headed by former striker Dean Holdsworth.
Lawyers for Bolton have said bosses hope that a sale - which has to be approved by the Football League - will allow the club to reach the end of the season with money in the bank.
On Tuesday, Bolton are due to play Ipswich - who were also recently the subject of a winding up application by tax officials.
A judge last month dismissed the Ipswich application - at a High Court hearing in London - after a lawyer representing HM Revenue and Customs said Ipswich had paid tax owed. The lawyer had given no indication of the size of Ipswich's debt.
Bolton were one of 12 founding members of the Football League in 1888.
They have won the FA Cup on four occasions - the last time in 1958 - and once had Nat Lofthouse, one of the most famous names in the history of the English game, in their ranks.
Eleven years ago they finished sixth in the Premier League - and they reached the semi-final of the FA Cup in 2011.
Wednesday marks the 70th anniversary of the Burnden Park Disaster - one of the darkest days in the history of football.
Thirty-three fans were killed and another 400 injured when Bolton played Stoke City in an FA Cup quarter-final tie at their former ground on March 9 1946. Some were crushed against barriers which gave way, others were trampled.
Officials say Bolton will wear a commemorative strip against Ipswich.
A memorial service is also scheduled to take place in Bolton on Wednesday.