From Insider Media :-
The liquidation of Bradford Bulls looks set to leave creditors shouldering an estimated shortfall of almost £2m, new documents which also shed further light on the plight of the one-time rugby league giant have revealed.
A report prepared by administrators at PBC Business Recovery, which were appointed to handle the club's affairs in November, details creditor claims of £1.84m.
This sum includes £690,643 owed to suppliers, £400,995 claimed by HM Revenue & Customs and £750,000 of director loans, which is listed as an unsecured claim after former owner Marc Green and his wife waived their status as a secured creditor in the interests of the wider pool.
At the date of the report (6 January 2017), the club's assets were expected to fetch about £250,916 which would only be enough to discharge some of the costs of the administration.
The report reveals that operating losses at the Bulls rose from £660,116 in 2013/14 to £947,171 in the year to 30 November 2015, with a cash crisis gripping the club who had been one of the most successful in the sport at the start of the Super League era in the mid to late 90s.
A tax demand and subsequent winding-up petition presented by HMRC ultimately led to the administration of the club – the third such event in four years.
After an ultimately unsuccessful hunt for a buyer to acquire the club out of administration, Bradford Bulls Northern Ltd was liquidated at the start of the month.
A new entity led by New Zealand Rugby League chairman Andrew Chalmers and Graham Lowe, a successful former coach, have now embarked on developing a new new professional rugby league club in Bradford.
The new club will begin the 2017 season in the Kingstone Press Championship on minus 12 points.
