West Brom may have avoided court action and fines as official document emerges on government website
A 5 January update at Companies House looks like it should mean West Brom avoid the risk of financial penalties and possible court action.
Prior to Friday’s emergence on the government website it was showing that the the Baggies’ confirmation statement was overdue, which potentially left the club open to fines or legal action [Credit Reform].
However it now shows that the document, created on 16 December, has been submitted and the official records updated as of 5 January.
With off-field questions regarding the ownership of the club having rumbled on for months, with a badly-needed takeover finally now apparently on the brink, any issues with documentation like this might be seen as a red flag.
But while punishment for missing the confirmation statement deadline were unlikely to have been serious in the first instance, it now seems that the situation is now in order either way.
According to Credit Reform it is after 14 days that the overdue submission would start to build up fines, following a likely warning letter.
A criminal conviction and the eventual dissolution of the company, which would lead to all assets being seized and a cease to trading, would obviously have been a disastrous prospect for West Brom but was likely never a realistic prospect here.
With multiple interested parties in the running to buy out Guochuan Lai the imminent change of ownership has been backed to provide some peace of mind for Albion fans at long last by finance expert Kieran Maguire.
The expectation heading into Christmas was that a preferred bidder would be selected by the current majority shareholder and a deal to be done sooner rather than later.
With Carlos Corberan revealing that the club are working to tie down Tom Fellows to a new contract [Express & Star, 6 January] it suggests that there have been no hitches behind the scenes, as such moves would likely be difficult to make if the takeover was off.
If the appearance of the confirmation statement at Companies House is a sign of official business falling into place then perhaps the club might be set for a long-awaited and crucial development.
In other West Brom news, the Baggies are concerned about a mystery problem afflicted a key first-team player who is apparently not injured.