Dundee FC live to fight another day after administrator Bryan Jackson this afteroon won his bid to secure a creditors’ voluntary arrangement (CVA).
Major creditors, including former directors Calum Melville and Bob Brannan, had backed the proposal but it needed a 75% share of credit value to go through.
But at a meeting of creditors that started at Dens at noon, Jackson secured 81% support for the six-pence-in-the-pound deal.
Failure had been likely to lead to liquidation and even though agreement has been reached, there will be no back-slapping among those who will be hoping to steer the club into the future.
Stuart Murphy, secretary of the Dundee Football Club Supporters Society (DFCSS), the group whose £150,000 is being used to fund the CVA and who will likely own 51% of the club’s shares post-administration, made that crystal clear before today’s vote.
Mr Murphy had said, “I am not making any predictions, other than to say I am cautiously optimistic. But one thing I will say is even if the CVA is approved there will be no whooping or cheering. It would be wrong to celebrate as too many people have suffered because of what has happened.
“There is a long way to go to securing the club’s long-term survival, and this is just one of the hurdles we have to clear to get there. We are more determined than ever to do so, however, and if everyone with the best interests of Dundee at heart keeps up the hard work then our chances will improve considerably.”
Today is the culmination of much hard work by accountant Jackson since Dundee entered their second administration in October. However, his spirits have been lifted during that time by the response of the fans and, in particular, manager Barry Smith and his players.
Since losing to Cowdenbeath before administration, the Dens men have won nine, drawn four and lost no matches in the league.
Talking before today’s vote, Jackson said, “I took the job on the basis that there would be great local support that was the feeling I had. Otherwise, there would have been no point in doing it because there was no other exit route other than via the supporters.
“Having said that, they have been much better than I anticipated. The staff and the present directors have also rallied around. There has been a great siege mentality.
“Yes, the negative was the sanctions but there was a positive out of that because it made everyone that bit stronger. The biggest positive and the most surprising one for me was the team’s record of nine wins and four draws since administration.
“How can that happen with a guy, Barry Smith, who had not managed before and with a pool of about 12 first-team players? What they have done has been amazing.”For the latest on this story, including full reaction, see Wednesday’s Courier.