Livingston doing a Clach

[Alex MacLeod]

Troubled club Livingston face court over unpaid rent

Mar 30 2008 By Raymond Hainey

Exclusive Troubled Club Face Court

TROUBLED Livingston FC face court over almost ?300,000 in unpaid rent.

Almondvale stadium owners West Lothian Council are considering legal action to recover ?150,000 arrears plus ?150,000 due at the end of April.

The club - battling relegation in the First Division - emerged from administration in 2005 after being more than ?10million in debt.

Administrators appointed Irish tycoon Pearse Flynn's Lionheart Management to run the club before entering a creditors' agreement which wiped out much of the debt.

Flynn, 44, then took full ownership of the club for ?150,000.

After it hit the financial rocks, the previous Labour administration in West Lothian struck a deal to pay annual rent one year in arrears.

Details of the debt emerged after Flynn's failed bid to offload the club to businessman Eddie Ramsay.

Council leader Peter Johnston said: "We have procedures to recover money. Nobody is exempt."

Firms can be told to pay up or face court. They could then be evicted and have any assets seized.

The council evicted more than 60 domestic tenants in 2007 for nonpayment of rent.

But a Livi insider said: "We're not about to go bust like Gretna."

Club chief executive Vivien Kyles said: "We have no external debt to banks and no overdraft."

There are procedures to recover debts..no one is exempt' COUNCILLOR JOHNSTON

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