Carlisle United owners: we are not at loggerheads with Purepay Retail Limited over debt

But John Nixon admits it is “difficult” finding a way forward.

United owe Purepay more than £2.3m as a legacy of loans made to the club by Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

Club bosses have said they are still waiting for a response from the company some six months after tabling proposals over the debt.

Nixon, speaking at a fans’ forum, admitted dealing with the debt was a major priority in United’s attempt to attract new investment.

Blues directors, at the forum hosted by supporters’ groups (CUSG), were challenge to explain the apparent “impasse” with the club’s main lenders.

Nixon said the club were grateful for EWM’s loans at a time of need and stressed Purepay had not yet demanded any of it back.

He added: “The relationship is not broken. It’s just difficult to know how we get it to move forward.”

READ MORE: Carlisle United directors fans' forum - as it happened!

The co-owner also said: “In July, we went and said, ‘Can we pay you back?’, and offered them an amount of money. In November they turned us down.

“In November we then went and said, ‘We’ll offer you some other money, because we want to pay the debt back’, and we asked for that to be negotiated.

“That is still in the negotiating pot at present.”

United’s debt is accruing interest, something Nixon said the club were fully aware of when signing up to the EWM loan facility.

It had been hoped that EWM would eventually take over the club but a deal did not ultimately go through.

Nixon added that it was important to deal with the debt because “we have got other people who have talked to us about investing cash in the future.

“As a pure example – if somebody comes along and says they want to put money in and have some shares, or whatever, they don’t want to put £1m in and find that £1m goes out the next day to pay debt.

“It’s incumbent upon us to try and get a deal with the existing debt holders to get a repayment plan. So when someone puts money in, the vast majority will go towards rebuilding the team, restructuring, infrastructure work, whatever. To improve the club and its playing staff.

United owe Purepay a seven-figure sum as a legacy of loans made by Philip Day (centre, back right)'s EWM (photo: Stuart Walker)

“We’re not at an impasse or loggerheads. We’re just trying our best to put that deal together.”

Directors were also questioned about the role of John Jackson at United.

EWM’s finance man, and a Purepay director, has been on the board of CUFC Holdings since 2018.

Blues chiefs said there were situations in board meetings when Jackson had to “step back” because of conflicts of interest relating to his Purepay and United positions.

“We do try and communicate through him,” Nixon said. “But there are times, particularly when talking cash, that it is a bit difficult.”

Chief executive Nigel Clibbens said Jackson – who has never spoken publicly about his Blues involvement – was an “active participant” at board meetings and had attended every Holdings board meeting since his appointment at United.

“He takes his duties as a director properly,” Clibbens said.

“He’s got over 100 other directorships and this is not his main job.

“He tended to be involved at the start when the club was in a bit of a crisis and borrowing lots of cash. As that’s stopped, his involvement in that direct way has fallen away.

“His role is to oversee the loan on behalf of Purepay so they can see what’s happening at the club and if it’s being run in a way that adversely or favourably affects their loan.”

United, meanwhile, said they had not received assurances from Purepay that they would not call in the debt over the next year.

Clibbens said chairman Andrew Jenkins’ firm Pioneer had, though, given similar assurance over United’s debt to them.

The lack of confirmation from Purepay was flagged up by the club's auditors in their last accounts as grounds for "material uncertainty...that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Chief executive Clibbens added that the Blues would be funding their current spending plans under Paul Simpson from the club’s own resources and reserves, rather than from external backing.

READ MORE: Carlisle United say they used agencies to scout players before Paul Simpson's arrival