Gosport Borough FC under fire from HMRC over missing accounts

Gosport Borough Football Club has been given a dissolution order by Companies House after failing to submit accounts made up to April 28, 2016.

While leader of Gosport Borough Council Cllr Mark Hook was chairman at the time, he denies any wrongdoing – saying that the accounts were outsourced to a company called TML.

The club now has two months to submit these accounts before being ‘struck-off’ – whereby Companies House considers the firm to no longer be in business.

A spokesman from Companies House said: ‘The company is being struck off for non-compliance due to a failure to file accounts.

‘Compulsory strike-off is action taken by Companies House where we have reasonable cause to believe that a company is not carrying on business or in operation.’

Cllr Mark Hook said: ‘I didn’t know anything about this.

‘When I was chairman we had a treasurer who dealt with the accounts – which should have been submitted by TML.

‘I was under the impression that all the work had been done at the time.

‘To be honest we were working very hard at the time and, with the winding-up orders the club received, that work is well-documented.

‘I am surprised that these haven’t been submitted, but since I no longer have anything to do with the club it is now also out of my control.’

A spokesman for TML admitted that while the accounts haven’t gone missing, the company failed to submit them on time.

But he believes that the revolving door of staff at the football club is also at fault.

He said: ‘The accounts are now prepared – they just need to be finalised.

‘I cannot comment about why they weren’t submitted on time, but hopefully things will be more organised in the future.

‘With the frequent changes in personnel at Gosport Borough Football Club it is hard for anyone to actually take responsibility for what has happened.’

Current chairman of the club Iain McInnes says that the issue is not a concern of his.

He said: ‘It is neither in my control, relevant to my ownership nor reflective of our current status. I am focusing on the future, not the past.’