Scottish League One club ‘enter administration and go bottom of table with 15 point deduction’

Scottish League One club Dumbarton FC reportedly ‘enter administration and go bottom of the table with a 15 point deduction’.

One of Scotland’s oldest football clubs have been facing ongoing financial troubles with concerns increasing over its long-term future.

Administrators said the club’s directors “were left with no option” after failing to receive money owed from the sale of development land in 2021.

‘The Sons’, who have been champions of Scotland twice in their 152-year history, now face a 15 points deduction, like fellow third-tier side Inverness Caledonian Thistle did after going into administration earlier this season.

Dumbarton look to drop to zero points and fall four behind Inverness.

Glasgow-based financial advisors Quantuma are appointed as administrators after a private individual had to step in to pay wages at the club, according to STV News.

Dumbarton have now released a statement on social media after reports emerged, they said: “We want to acknowledge the reports shared on varying media outlets tonight and understand it’s not the news that people wanted.

“A statement will follow tomorrow.”

The news that Dumbarton have went into administration is gutting.

Sad times for the Sons of the Rock.

Treading water and fighting rumours like this for the last few years, but their owners have constantly made promises they haven’t delivered.

Our thoughts go out to the fans. pic.twitter.com/GJUwONbGro

— Football Heritage (@_footyheritage) November 19, 2024

Kieran Maguire: “Dumbarton set to enter administration which will trigger a points deduction. Yet the balance sheet at first glance looks strong, which shows that looking in the rear view mirror (accounts prepared to 31 May 2023) can still result in a crash.”

Quantuma appointed as administrators of Dumbarton Football Club

Ian Wright and Craig Morrison, managing directors at business advisory firm Quantuma, were appointed joint administrators of The Dumbarton Football Club Limited (Dumbarton FC) on 18 November 2024. Dumbarton FC compete in tier 3 of the Scottish Professional Football League, William Hill League One and are one of the oldest football clubs in Scotland.

Ian Wright, Quantuma managing director and joint administrator said:

“Craig Morrison and I were appointed joint administrators of Dumbarton FC on 18 November 2024. The directors of the club were left with no option other than to appoint administrators, following the non-receipt of significant funds that were owed to the club from the sale of development land in 2021.

As administrators, we will be investigating the circumstances surrounding this transaction and other issues affecting the club, but will not be in a position to comment further at this time. Our immediate priority is to ensure the club can complete its fixtures and we will be meeting with key stakeholders to ensure this can be achieved.

We understand this will be a shock to fans, staff and the local community.

The club employs 18 playing staff, six football staff and three club staff whose roles are secure whilst we work through the early stages of assessing the options available to the club. We would invite any interested parties to come forward.”

Sons Supporters Trust Statement

The Sons Supporters Trust is saddened but not shocked by today’s developments at Dumbarton Football Club.

For some time it has been evident that the club has been operating under straitened circumstances, and whilst the appointment of an Administrator is a very serious undertaking, it is to be hoped that an end can now be brought to both the club’s opaque ownership model and the Boardroom tensions which have characterised affairs at Dumbarton FC since the purchase of the majority shareholding by Cognitive Capital Limited in April 2021.

It is our opinion that the local Directors have reached a brave and sensible decision.

Furthermore, the Trust would hope that any legal due diligence associated with the Administration process would encompass the provenance and detail of the funding arrangements for that purchase, also the suspected transfer of a portion of land previously belonging to the football club to a shell housing development company created by Cognitive Capital Limited, done without either the knowledge or approval of the Dumbarton FC Board of Directors in place at that time.

We are also acutely aware that there is a very human aspect to today’s announcement with a risk to people’s livelihoods, and that is a matter for deep regret.

Dumbarton Football Club was founded in December 1872 and recently celebrated its 150th anniversary.

However, for almost twenty years now the controlling interest in the club has resided with parties whose principal aim has been to employ Dumbarton FC as a vehicle to enable housing development on the club’s iconic site at Dumbarton Rock.

Today’s announcement marks the continued failure of that endeavour.

The Sonstrust believes that there remains considerable potential for community benefit in re-energising Scotland’s fifth-oldest football club through an ownership model which firmly places football as its core activity, and we stand ready to work with the Administrator and any interested third parties who can help realise that objective.

The Chairman and Board of the Sons Supporters Trust

Here’s how fans reacted on Twitter with the Scottish League One club to ‘enter administration and go bottom of table with 15 point deduction’…

@NuBzHearts: Inverness and now Dumbarton. This is the beginning of the end for Scottish football unless big changes are made

@pieandbov: Very sad to see another SPFL club entering administration, particularly one of the founding members of the Scottish Football League. Hopefully the Sons will find their way out of this. From an immediate sporting point of view this means an immediate 15 point deduction that will place them bottom of League 1 with zero points.

@Nareystoepoker: Hopefully there are few redundancies. Grim stuff

@Sawers_1: Dumbarton going bust now grim.

@Caseyghirl: Saddened to hear the news of pending administration for Dumbarton FC, genuinely hope this isn’t the case. Hands help up, I’m part of the problem…team on my doorstep and I travel to watch one of the big teams

@wayne_0405: I hope Dumbarton can sort themselves out, really good away day with the bowling club across/down the road

@JamesHosie11: Deducting points from clubs entering administration is beyond evil. What should happen instead is the people responsible being given bans from participating in football indefinitely.

@SFitbaws: Sounds like @Dumbartonfc are going into admin tomorrow which is a real shame. Unlikely to have many redundancy’s as the staff and squad is small already but not what we went to see.

@garyredhead96: Sad to see this, there’s a lot of good football people at Dumbarton, hopefully the end result is something positive for everyone involved, and the club can move forward ⚽️

@HowdenenderLiz: Very sorry to hear that, as a caley supporter totally understand how horrible the whole process can be for staff and supporters. Let’s hope you can be saved. You have a great set up and I really enjoyed my visit earlier this season.

@StephenWattPoet: Absolutely heartbreaking but may well be the very action which saves the club in the end. Time will tell 😔

@craig_ste247: Fucking shambles

@jk1963_keenan: Been there. Not funny!

@aaronc8362: Horrible man. Hopefully we can get out this mess and come out this long term in a more secure and stronger position

Just a beautiful place! Wishing @Dumbartonfc nothing but the best. pic.twitter.com/YlxbfyIZOf

— Ben Saunders (@BSaundersSport) November 19, 2024