British Basketball Federation owed half a million pounds when it went bust
The British Basketball Federation owed close to half a million pounds when it began the process of going into liquidation late last year.
The BBF, which was in charge of the men’s and women’s GB teams, folded after a long-running legal battle with Super League Basketball, the top national domestic competition.
Companies House filings show that the BBF owed a total of £481,988, more than £450,000 of which was to unsecured creditors including contractors, staff and players.
As the only secured creditor, HMRC will recoup the £6,144 it was owed in VAT from the £33,066 of remaining cash, leaving just £26,922 to be shared among other creditors.
The BBF’s biggest liability was to the travel services company Gray Dawes Group, which it owed £90,085.
Its next most significant creditor was Onside Law, the boutique firm which advised it on the licence tender process and subsequent legal dispute with SLB. It owed Onside £64,620.
The BBF owed £59,582 to apparel supplier KitKing Ltd and £31,747 to the Manchester branch of Holiday Inn, near the governing body’s headquarters.
BBF owed £30,000 to Fiba
It also owed a total of £30,152 to world governing body Fiba and its European subsidiary. Fiba suspended the BBF late last year amid its civil war with SLB.
Other notable creditors include Basketball Wales and Basketball England, who were owed £16,900 and £14,260 respectively.
Insolvency practitioner Begbies Traynor was appointed the liquidator on 17 December, when a special resolution was also passed to voluntarily wind up the BBF.
Following the BBF’s collapse, Basketball England has taken over management of the GB teams on an interim basis. It is anticipated that a new body will be created to replace the BBF.
Fiba intervened in British basketball’s crisis in October, suspending the GB men’s team from international competition and appointing a task force to resolve the stand-off.
It lifted the competitive ban in November but maintained the suspension of the BBF’s powers to issue licences to leagues and entered into its own agreement with SLB.