Shakers on brink of survival deal

A deal to hand control of the club to the Save Our Shakers Association has yet to be signed but their largest creditor, the Russell Cooke Trust, are believed to be willing to accept just £500,000 of the £1.3million mortgage repayment owed to them by the liquidation-threatened club.

The half-million will be raised by the sale of Gigg Lane to an anonymous local businessman, who will lease the ground back to Shakers at a favourable rate.

Under the deal, tabled a fortnight ago, Bury will enter into a Company Voluntary Arrangement for four years while they gradually wipe out their massive debt at the rate of £6,000 a week. Their new look board of directors will include current co-chairmen John Smith and Fred Mason, who will be joined by Save Our Shakers' Peter Metcalfe and Oscar Goldstein.

It is not yet known who, if anyone, will take charge of the club as chairman.

Joint administrator Matthew Dunham will return to the High Court on Friday to ask for a single week extension to the administration period while the takeover is completed but was confident a deal would be signed at a crucial Friday morning meeting.

"We still have to get the final documents sorted out but we are getting a good response to our proposals from all the creditors," he said. "There will be some minor changes to the original proposal but nothing that should throw a spanner in the works and I remain confident that we will come to an agreement on Friday.

"The creditors have been very supportive in giving the club a chance to continue into the future."

The big concern for fans now is, with no television money forthcoming following the collapse of ITV Digital and crowds of little more than 3,000 a week, will Shakers face a similar plight in the near future? But Dunham insisted that another period of administration could be avoided and that Bury FC could look forward to a bright future. "Save Our Shakers are in a strong position to take the club forward," he said.

"The fact that the club will be in a CVA for four years will not affect the running of the club. That's just a mechanism to allow the club to function while paying off its debts.

"I wouldn't have put the proposals forward if I thought the club would end up in the same trouble a few months down the line. I wouldn't want to be associated with that."

BURY will be saved from extinction on Friday as creditors agree to write off an £800,000 debt.

A deal to hand control of the club to the Save Our Shakers Association has yet to be signed but their largest creditor, the Russell Cooke Trust, are believed to be willing to accept just £500,000 of the £1.3million mortgage repayment owed to them by the liquidation-threatened club. The half-million will be raised by the sale of Gigg Lane to an anonymous local businessman, who will lease the ground back to Shakers at a favourable rate.

Under the deal, tabled a fortnight ago, Bury will enter into a Company Voluntary Arrangement for four years while they gradually wipe out their massive debt at the rate of £6,000 a week. Their new look board of directors will include current co-chairmen John Smith and Fred Mason, who will be joined by Save Our Shakers' Peter Metcalfe and Oscar Goldstein.

Joint administrator Matthew Dunham will return to the High Court on Friday to ask for a single week extension to the administration period while the takeover is completed but was confident a deal would be signed at a crucial Friday morning meeting.

"We still have to get the final documents sorted out but we are getting a good response to our proposals from all the creditors," he said. "I remain confident that we will come to an agreement."

"The creditors have been very supportive in giving the club a chance to continue into the future.

"Save Our Shakers are in a strong position to take the club forward.

"I wouldn't have put the proposals forward if I thought the club would end up in the same trouble a few months down the line. I wouldn't want to be associated with that."