Dundalk announced on Tuesday that John Temple, a native of the town, had agreed a takeover with Ainscough and would “lead a consortium of investors who have agreed to underwrite the players’ current wages until the end of the season and will examine the viability of the club and its facilities going forward”.
This means that the Lilywhites have avoided the doomsday scenario of going out of existence, a live threat posed by a deadline set by Ainscough. He had acknowledged that the funds were not there to complete the season.
But the make-up of the consortium behind Temple appears to have a work-in-progress element to it. There are talks scheduled for today with Donal Greene, an ex-Dundalk player turned entrepreneur based in Slovakia, who was heading up a second group that talked with Ainscough before he went with Temple’s offer.
It’s understood that former Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, a Dundalk man who now chairs the FAI’s National League Committee, has been heavily involved as an intermediary facilitating discussions. And a statement released yesterday evening by Sinn Fein TD Ruairí Ó Murchú indicated that Temple is open to other backers coming on board.
“I welcome the news that John Temple and the consortium have agreed to take over the reins at Oriel Park, and we are out of the white heat of liquidation and nuclear options,” said Ó Murchú.
“There is an investment plan here and Mr Temple has indicated to me that he is willing to talk to and work with anyone else who wishes to become involved.
“He is also going to talk to creditors of the club.”
The suggestion Temple is planning to speak with creditors supports the view that he is planning to avoid going into SCARP (Small Company Administrative Rescue Process) – a form of examinership which effectively would have involved a partial write-off of debts but would also likely have resulted in guaranteed relegation to the First Division.
Greene’s proposal would almost certainly have involved exercising that option.
Of course, relegation remains a strong possibility, with Dundalk bottom of the table with six games remaining – one point behind local neighbours Drogheda who have a game in hand. But honouring wages in full means that Dundalk will be able to receive full compensation for young players at the club should they opt to go elsewhere in November.
Temple is expected to meet the players tomorrow but has said his priority in the short term is off-the-field matters.
“Dundalk is a football town and the club is hugely important to all the staff, players and supporters,” said Temple.
“We appreciate the concerns raised by all of our supporters in recent weeks and it has underscored what the club means to every one of them.”
He is a director of Silverlane Investments, a company registered last October which tried to take the reins at Dundalk before Ainscough did a deal with former owners Andy Connolly and Statsports duo Alan Clarke and Seán O’Connor.
In a statement released to local media at the time, Silverlane listed some of their aims, including “opening the indoor pitches at Oriel Park to the public on a full-time basis, to include the installation of a new gym, the installation of solar panels to lower energy costs and creating a community sensory room and a coffee shop open seven days a week.”
That deal did not proceed, but Temple’s name returned to the discussion this week as the club reached crisis point, with debts in excess of €1m that were adding up.
Various parties expressed interest before dropping out but two remained interested. Greene led one group, with a longer-term plan that included investment from North America and a plan that was believed to involve a minor shareholding for supporters.
But it emerged on Monday that Ainscough had another live option, which was Temple’s group.
Discussions accelerated to get it over the line, with FAI approval, although they were unsure of the identity of the backers at the beginning of the day.
In the short term, the priority for Dundalk and Ainscough was survival and the FAI were desperate to avoid a scenario where they were forced to cease trading, thus causing chaos to the Premier Division table.
Temple added that the Government decision to bring forward the announcement of a successful grant application for urgent works to the pitch and floodlights at the dilapidated Oriel Park was a major help.
“We are very grateful to Minister Thomas Byrne who has pledged the Government’s support for our Sports Capital Grant application, which is most welcome, and this is the silver lining for today’s takeover announcement,” he said.
“A new Board of Directors will be appointed in the coming weeks and a meeting will take place with staff and players in the next week when everything is finalised.
“Today is a proud day for all associated with Dundalk Football Club.”
