: Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:20 pm
For the avoidance of doubt, a company is insolvent if it is unable to pay its debts as and when they fall due.
Do not confuse this with a club having an excess of liabilities over assets ("technical insolvency").
Many - most, maybe - RL clubs are "technically insolvent". Including some big names which might surprise some people. But they are able to keep trading because their owners/directors have committed to ensuring that the company has sufficient cash to enable it to continue trading for at least the next twelve months. Thereby they remain "solvent" and so may continue trading legally and without personal liability on the directors for trading whilst insolvent. This may be by, for example, by owners or directors:
* Contractually agreeing to subordinate their loans to the interest of the other creditors
* Personally and contractually guaranteeing - or providing security for - the company's overdraft or other debt/s
* Personally and contractually agreeing to inject additional subordinated loan funds, or equity, should the need arise.
Although quite why a non-owner director would do any of this this escapes me...
If necessary owners may write off loans to the company, or (a
(as happened with Saints recently) allow loans to be converted to shares thereby reducing the liabilities.
Sometimes, the lender may allow the situation to continue if the debt is secured on assets whose market value is a lot higher than their book value. That used to be the case sometimes with grounds, although probably less likely nowdays, and anyway most such properties have long since been sold.