Au Yeung Wai Kay writes off £36m Wigan Athletic debt!

Yeung, who owns both the Next Leader Fund and Wigan Athletic Holdings Limited, was owed separate debts of £25.3m and £10.7m by the club.

But administrators announced on Thursday that the Hong Kong businessman had ceded his right to repayment.

Removal of the debts should make the club a significantly more attractive proposition for any potential new buyer to take on.

“(Yeung) has given the administrators the powers necessary to put this into effect and to use all monies for the benefit of the club,” a statement from the administrators said.

“By waiving all his rights Mr Yeung has also made it much more possible to pay the necessary 25p dividend to the creditors and thus avoid a further 15-point penalty next season.”

The statement said that Yeung had “cooperated fully for the benefit of the club” and acted “in order to ensure the survival of the club and to give the administrators the best possible chance to agree a sale”.

Wigan were acquired by a company owned by Dr Stanley Choi in November 2018 and subsequently sold to another company, Next Leader Fund, of which Choi held a 51 per cent shareholding and Yeung 49 per cent, in May 2020.

Yeung later bought Dr Choi’s 51 per cent interest for £20m, effectively giving him sole control of the club.

But the club were placed into administration on July 1, and were subsequently hit with a 12-point penalty which saw them relegated to League One at the end of the season.

The full written reasons for that penalty, published on Monday, included the revelation Yeung had inquired about putting the club into administration before he had completed his takeover on June 24.

The administrators also poured cold water on speculation suggesting the club was on the verge of being taken over by a consortium headed by Oostende chief executive Gauthier Ganaye.

“The Joint Administrators note that in the Sun article of the 20 August, its professional journalist Mr Alan Nixon goes into great detail about a bid from Randy Frankel and Michael Kalt," the statement added.

"Firstly, we would point out that release of any information by them (or someone in their group) is a complete breach of the non-disclosure agreement.

"Secondly, we would inform fans in the light of this breach that no credible bid has been received from this organisation that would lead to the saving of the football club.

"Talks, however, are continuing with serious bidders with a view to bringing a successful sale to fruition.”