Irish group bidding for Scots football club to meet creditors

The Irish-led consortium bidding for troubled Scottish football club Livingston will begin meeting the club's creditors tomorrow.

Lionheart, the consortium headed by Cork businessman Mr Pearse Flynn, was named on Tuesday as preferred bidder for the club, which is in administration with debts of £7.5 million (€11.2 million).

Representatives of the consortium will meet officials of West Lothian Council along with the club's administrator. The council owns the club ground and most of its associated buildings. It was owed a six-figure sum and has issued notice of intent to evict the club from the ground.

A spokesman for West Lothian Council last night said the bulk of the debt had been repaid. "We are still in discussions over the balance," he said.

He added that the club was unlikely to pursue eviction but had instituted the proceedings to "get something moving" on repayment of its debt. "We felt we were not being properly involved in talks with the administrator," he said.

Lionheart is expected to meet other creditors in the coming week, including HBOS whose decision to withdraw facilities from the former owners and demand repayment of £3.5 million led the club into administration in February.

Lionheart will also talk to staff and players at the club in the next few days.

Mr Flynn, who made his fortune by leading telecoms group Newbridge Networks into a $7.1 billion takeover by French group Alcatel, has resided in Scotland for several years.

He was one of a number of Irish business figures to invest alongside Mr Dermot Desmond in Celtic football club. Mr Flynn, a lifelong supporter of the club, spent £1 million buying Celtic shares.

Sources close to the Livingston deal said that while the Celtic investment could be classed as a footballing decision, the Livingston deal was a straightforward matter of business.

A statement from Lionheart yesterday said: "There is considerable work to be done before a deal can be completed. However, we are confident that we will reach a satisfactory conclusion which ensures the future of Livingston FC and provides a firm commercial base from which we can build success both on and off the field."

Mr Flynn is not expected to take a front line management role in the club if the Lionheart bid succeeds.

Livingston is one of Scotland's most recent "new towns", dating from the 1960s. It resembles Tallaght in Dublin in that it is the fastest growing area of Scotland with the youngest population.

While the club has struggled to fill its 10,000 capacity ground, the Flynn-led consortium is said to be confident that the club has a viable future as a business despite the domination of Scottish soccer by Celtic and Rangers.