Legal advice sought over Mileson ‘snub’
Last updated 11:49, Wednesday, 03 September 2008
THE man controlling Gretna’s affairs is taking legal advice over the possibility of court proceedings to make former owner Brooks Mileson accountable for a £2.2m debt.
Liquidator David Elliott claims that repeated attempts to contact Mileson over the club’s debts have failed.
Mileson has not been seen in public since he became ill just weeks before the club he bankrolled to the SPL and the 2006 Scottish Cup Final was placed into administration in March with debts of nearly £4million.
They were placed into liquidation last month and Elliott, from Sheffield insolvency practitioners Wilson Field, has called another creditors’ meeting on Thursday week at the Lakes Court Hotel in Carlisle.
Mileson himself is owed £1.8m as part of a loan to the club, leaving around £2.2m of external debt.
Some £600,000 is owed to the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, with the rest being claimed by 138 businesses and individuals.
Documents obtained by the News & Star show that Mileson agreed in May 2006 he would guarantee the club’s debts and liabilities up until March 31, 2008.
Elliott is now taking legal advice on how to make Mileson accountable for the debt after failing to make contact with the Carlisle-based businessman.
He said: “Wheels are in motion and the precise approach is yet to be determined by my solicitors. It’s a case of how we should proceed with this matter.
“We have tried to contact Mr Mileson via his son, by letters to him and by the other director Ron MacGregor.
“His son says his father is not fit and is incapacitated. It has caused substantial problems.
“The creditors are annoyed and frustrated. They are not going to get all their money back unless Brooks Mileson comes forward with his £2.2million because he said in the 2006 accounts he would cover all those costs.”
Elliot met with Dumfries and Galloway Council on Monday to discuss whether they will put in an offer for Gretna’s Raydale Park ground, which is now derelict.
He has already received around six offers, ranging from £400,000 to £1million.
Mileson’s son Craig, the club’s former operations director, told the News & Star in April that his father is too ill to speak to the media.
Craig Mileson was last night unavailable for comment when contacted by the News & Star to speak on his father’s behalf.
