Jersey Reds creditors unlikely to get money from collapsed Championship club

Jersey won the Championship title last season for the first time in their history

Liquidators for Jersey Reds say it is unlikely that creditors will get any money from the failed club.

The Championship champions ceased trading last month and liquidators Grant Thornton have been appointed.

Reds reportedly had debts of more than £3m and assets of less than £150,000.

"It's fair to say that at the moment there won't be a distribution of any great significance, if at all, to creditors," Alan Roberts - one of the liquidators - told BBC Radio Jersey.

• Jersey Reds to go into liquidation

"Looking at the assets available it doesn't seem to be there's going to be a material distribution to creditors."

Jersey's government are listed as one of the creditors and are owed more than £450,000 in unpaid taxes.

"There are claims for GST (Goods and Services Tax), employee deductions for payroll, and importantly any other matters that government has funded that may be reclaimable or guaranteed under other creditor balances," Roberts said.

"It's not yet clear what the government debt is from our liquidator point of view."

But the 70 former employees may get help with the firm assisting players, coaches and other staff with government benefits, on top of a benevolent fund that has been set up.

"One of the categories of creditor is employees, who have a preferred status under the law, and it's not just necessarily from the company assets that they have an ability to recover something," Roberts added.

"Jersey operates an insolvency benefits scheme, administered by the government, and that gives employees certain entitlements to lost pay that they can claim under that scheme.

"That's something that the joint liquidators are seeking to assist them with and they may therefore receive recompense that wouldn't be available to other creditors."