Wigan Athletic: Former owner Au Yeung Wai Kay waives £36m owed by club
- Published
Au Yeung Wai Kay enquired about putting Wigan into administration before he had completed his takeover in June
Former Wigan Athletic owner Au Yeung Wai Kay has agreed to waive the £36m owed to him by the League One club.
It means the money can be used for the "benefit of the club" and will not need to be repaid by a prospective buyer.
The funds will also help pay creditors their minimum return as the Latics try to avoid further sanctions next season.
The Hong Kong-based businessman put Wigan into administration on 1 July, weeks after buying them, leading to a 12-point deduction and relegation.
Wigan had owed £25.3m to Next Leader Fund and and £10.7m to Wigan Athletic Holdings Limited.
A statement from club administrators Begbies Traynor said:, external "Mr Yeung has co-operated fully for the benefit of the club and has agreed, in order to ensure the survival of the club and to give the administrators the best possible chance to agree a sale, to waive his rights to the repayment of the debts owed to him and to his companies."
Last week, administrators set a deadline of 31 August to sell the club and hinted the Latics may not be able to start the new season if a deal is not completed by that date.