(PNE’s Deepdale Football Ground)

It’s hardly a global soccer story on the scale of Chelsea’s FA Cup triumph Saturday, but the financial woes of Preston North End are neither the first or the last such reports you’ll see over the next year.  On Friday, the Lillywhites were served with a winding-up order from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for non payment of liabilities, putting the future of the 130 year old club in jeopardy. From the Guardian and The Press Association :

The Championship side borrowed £550,000 from the businessman Trevor Hemmings’ investment vehicle, Guild Ventures, on Thursday to “meet the cost of players’ wages due this month”. Yet despite the cash injection, which took Hemmings’ investment in the Deepdale club to £13.82m including interest, the winding-up petition was issued yesterday.

Preston North End plc will be suspended from trading on Alternative Investment Market (AIM) stock exchange from Monday morning, pending clarification of the company’s financial position.

The club said in a statement: “The board of Preston North End, announces that, having received a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs, following failure to pay certain liabilities, the company’s ordinary shares will be suspended from trading on AIM.”