FEATHERSTONE ROVERS went into administration owing close to £3 million, according to a report.
Players, the tax authorities and unsecured creditors are not expected to see any of the money they are owed, as efforts to revive the club in time for the 2027 campaign continue.
Rovers, who had been continuously involved in professional Rugby League since 1921, are not competing in this year’s Championship after the RFL denied them membership, with their remaining players becoming free agents.
The company owning the club, which was issued with a winding-up petition by HMRC in September, went into administration amid their severe financial issues in December.
The one takeover bid submitted by the deadline, in which former chairman Mark Campbell was a central figure, did not meet the required criteria set by the governing body, with membership and therefore a place in the 2026 competition declined.
Now administrator Andrew Rosler is working with other interested parties in a bid to get Rovers up and running again.
According to Insider Media: “The club’s most recently filed accounts, covering the year to November 2023, show turnover of £1.68 million and a loss of £891,205. Draft 2024 accounts state that turnover was £1.66 million with a loss of £953,524.
“A review of accounting software found that claims against the club were expected to total at least £2.98 million.
“Following the appointment, the administrator found that neither players nor employees had been paid since prior to the presentation of the winding-up petition, while there were also discrepancies between the number of contracted players on the company’s records and the number registered with the RFL.”
Insider Media quoted the administrator’s report as saying: “While the Rugby Football League has terminated membership, the administrator has spent a significant amount of time in correspondence with the Rugby Football League, the local council, various parties interested in applying for membership and other stakeholders in order to secure a future for the club.
“The Rugby Football League is still accepting applications for membership and the administrator is continuing to liaise with all parties to make sure that Featherstone Rovers have a team competing in the Championship in time for the 2027 season.”
The report claims that the administrator expects to pay a distribution to the club’s secured creditors.
But there is not expected to be sufficient funds to pay a distribution to secondary preferential creditors, which includes former employees, HMRC and unsecured creditors.