Peterborough United Co-owner appoints receivers for club's ground over outstanding debt of £6.6m

Posh Co-owner Stewart Thompson and his fund OKR Financial Ltd has appointed receivers to take charge of the company that owns Posh’s ground following a long-running dispute over unpaid loans.

It was announced that London Road Peterborough Properties Ltd (LRPPL) was entering into a receivership on Tuesday following a dispute with its primary lender.

That primary lender is OKR Financial Ltd, owned by Mr Thompson after formally being owned by Mr Thompson and fellow Posh co-owner Jason Neale jointly.

Julian Pitts and Paul Stanley of leading insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor were appointed as LPA Receivers of the assets by OKR Financial- a Canadian investment group which is the club’s largest creditor- following a £5.2m loan made to the club in 2021 that was secured against the 15,000-seater stadium, land and adjoining property.

The receivers are now responsible for the London Road ground and the other secured assets, with the aim of recovering OKR Financial’s outstanding debt of £6.6m, which remains outstanding despite ongoing efforts to recover the overdue loan payments since October 2022.

The appointment does not apply to Peterborough United Football Club Ltd as a business, which continues to occupy the stadium under the terms of its lease.

The appointment was made on 27 March 2023, and empowers the receivers to take immediate control of the ground and the surrounding parcels of land that were used as collateral to secure the loans made in 2021.

Mr Thompson said: “Yesterday Old Kent Road Financial Ltd. has placed London Road Stadium into receivership as a first step toward the recovery of the OKR Fund loans across all Peterborough Football Club related entities.

“Numerous actions taken by the club since October 2022, plus the lack of movement in paying any portion of the existing loan at either the club or the stadium in almost a year have left OKR with no other option with respect to protection of the OKR investors, who have been told by the managing partners at the time of the loan that it would be paid in full.

“Attempts to move loans between entities, the addition of new debt, and an attempt to change the ownership structure are all actions that have been taken by club certain club directors, which when viewed in their entirety, indicate a lack of willingness on the part of these parties to maintain fiscal responsibility regarding the management of the club.”

“It is a shame that this distracts from the good work on the field by the manager and the team.”

“Ideally, this action will culminate in a successful settlement where no further action is required, with regard to the multiple loans the club has outstanding with OKR Financial Ltd.”