Time is running out for trust to bid for Pompey

Accountancy firm PKF said a bid from Balram Chainrai’s company Portpin to buy Pompey should be complete by the end of the week.

Pompey’s many creditors will then be sent a copy of the bid proposals, along with an invitation to a meeting to discuss them.

The bid will be presented by Pompey’s administrator Trevor Birch as the only way for creditors to get their money back – unless the Pompey Supporters’ Trust can make its counter bid in the meantime.

The PKF spokesman added: ‘The clock is ticking for the trust’s bid, not only because the Portpin bid is being finalised, but because the club is running short of funds.

‘If they take too long, the club will run out of money.’

The call comes as it emerged a consortium fronted by venture capitalist Brett De Bank has backed out following meetings with Mr Chainrai.

Mr De Bank is a University of Portsmouth graduate in finance and banking and says he is a regular at Fratton Park.

He is understood to have walked away from the deal after Mr Chainrai demanded payment of £16m for the stadium, according to the Daily Telegraph.

But, as previously reported in The News, it is understood that Mr De Bank’s group had not even jumped through the first hoop of football club ownership by proving they have enough money to pay for it and secure its future.

A spokesman for PKF said Mr Chainrai’s bid to buy the club, which has not yet been finalised, should see creditors getting more than 2p for every £1 they are owed.

He added: ‘We cannot provide any more details at this stage until the proposals are finalised.

‘As the Chainrai team said on Friday, they realise that the club will only have value if it is successful.

‘He wants to turn things around at Pompey and for the club to regain its rightful position.

‘He will also need to give the Football League some comfort that he has the means to run it on a profitable basis going forward, and the Football League will be very mindful of the club’s history when they look at the business plan.’