Panthers move to counter cash shortfall

Ice hockey

Nottingham Panthers, the Benson and Hedges Cup holders, are in negotiations with two potential buyers in an effort to stem rising debts.

The club, which has an asking price of pounds 750,000, has liabilities of around pounds 200,000.

The director, Charles Walker, is hoping to secure a deal in the next two to three weeks, just before the start of the new Superleague season.

Walker said: "It is a serious situation. We do need an immediate cash injection to finance the club for next season as we do have a continuous battle against wages."

The Panthers' gate receipts amount to around pounds 400,000, with a further pounds 225,000 coming from marketing and sponsorship, but Walker added: "Those amounts will still leave us about pounds 225,000 short of breaking even once wages and other expenditure is calculated.

"We can't continue losing money so heavily.

"But we have had conversations and negotiations over the last couple of months with two interested parties. We will wait to see what happens."

However, Walker refused to contemplate what could happen if the talks break down. He admitted: "We will certainly have some very tough decisions to make."