Dumbarton sale agreed with administration exit timeline set
The relegated Sons were placed in administration and docked 15 points by the SPFL after directors claimed they were left with 'no option' but to call in administrators in November.
Fans of the Scottish League One side rallied round, organising a GoFundMe, which raised over £122,000 to keep the club ticking over until a buyer could be found.
In a statement Joint Administrators Quantuma have confirmed agreement on heads of terms, with plans to take the relegated Sons out of administration by the second week in June.
Hopes of a rescue plan for the Sons suffered a blow in April when Phillips' Pendragon Group Limited have ended their interest in buying the club due to health issues and forfeited the non-refundable deposit paid.
Read more: Club bid to lure ex-Rangers star Ianis Hagi with unique clause
What Jimmy Thelin can learn from Aberdeen's 'worst team ever'
The joint administrators turned to other potential bidders, with Lapointe emerging as an unexpected potential saviour.
A statement from Quantuma read: 'Following the withdrawal of the proposal from Gareth Phillips due to ill health, the Joint Administrators of Dumbarton Football Club Limited can confirm that they have now agreed Heads of Terms on a deal to sell the Club to Mario Lapointe.
'Mario Lapointe is a Canadian entrepreneur and business owner with a passion for sport and in particular football.
'The Administrators will now work with Mario and his advisors to deliver the transaction by the second week in June allowing everything to be in place for the new season, planning for which is well underway.'
While the potential new owner has yet to outline his plans for the club news of a new preferred bidder will come as a relief to supporters who feared for the club's future.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
34 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Fact check: More people leave than arrive on current youth mobility schemes
On the BBC's Today programme on May 19, from around two hours and 21 minutes, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the UK's youth mobility arrangements with other countries reduce net migration. Asked 'how do you know there will be fewer people coming here than leaving?' Mr Reynolds said: 'Well, I've got 13 schemes in action already and that's the evidence of them.' He later added: 'I tell you the evidence of the current schemes just so you know is that they're a net negative on immigration.' Evaluation Around 24,400 youth mobility visas were issued to people wanting to come to the UK in 2024. Although figures are patchy for how many Britons go abroad, data from just three countries – Australia, New Zealand and Canada – suggests that 68,495 British citizens travelled to those countries in 2024 (the Australian data is for the 12 months to the end of June 2024). That would suggest that Mr Reynolds is right. However it does not take into account that Britons going abroad on these temporary visas will sooner or later come back, as will those who come to the UK. It is also not clear that this pattern will repeat in any similar deal with the EU. The UK population is much larger than those of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, so there are more Britons who can go to those countries than can come here. With the EU that is reversed. The facts How many people come to the UK on a youth mobility visa? Government data shows there were 24,437 people who were handed a youth mobility visa last year. Most of these were from one of the 13 countries with which the UK has a reciprocal arrangement. A small handful of visas – 131 in total – were for people from countries other than the 13. The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford has suggested that these are the result of errors in data recording, or due to people having dual nationalities. The top three countries that sent people to the UK on youth mobility visas between January and December 2024 were Australia (9,754 visas), New Zealand (4,304 visas) and Canada (3,060 visas). How many Britons go abroad on youth mobility type schemes? Figures are patchy on how many British people have gone abroad on a youth mobility scheme. The Department for Business and Trade was unable to share data. Australia publishes a twice-yearly report into what it calls its working holiday visa programme. That is the Australian equivalent to the UK's youth mobility scheme. The latest such report covered the 12 months to the end of June 2024. That report showed that Australia issued 48,973 working holiday visas to UK citizens. Data from New Zealand is available on the website of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Using its migration data explorer produces a spreadsheet which shows that there were 9,486 working holiday visas granted by New Zealand to UK citizens in between January and December 2024. Canadian data does not appear to be publicly available, but the figures were provided to the PA news agency by the Canadian Department for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. The data shows that in 2024 there were 9,972 work permits issued to UK and UK overseas territories citizens under the country's working holiday scheme, and a further 64 people had their permits extended. How do incoming youth mobility visas compare to outgoing? Net migration is a figure which subtracts the number of people coming into the country from the number of people leaving. The data cited above suggests that while 9,754 Australians came to the UK on youth mobility visas, 48,973 Britons went in the opposite direction. It must be noted that the time periods measured here are different, the Australian data is for the 12 months ending June 2024, while the UK data is for the 12 months ending December 2024. Meanwhile the data suggests that 4,304 New Zealanders came to the UK while 9,486 Britons went in the other direction. Data further shows that 3,060 Canadians came to the UK in 2024, while 9,972 Britons went in the other direction. This suggests that for each of these three countries the youth mobility schemes are – as Mr Reynolds suggested – reducing net migration. In fact Australia alone appears to receive twice as many Britons (48,973) as all people who the UK receives from all 13 countries added together (24,437). However, it should be noted that because youth mobility schemes are time-limited, Britons going abroad and people who have come to the UK on such visas will eventually be forced to return. This means the UK's inbound migration figures should take into account not just Australians and Canadians – for example – coming to the UK, but also Britons returning from Australia and Canada after their youth mobility visas expire. If it is assumed that everyone returns then over a longer time frame the youth mobility programmes will have a neutral impact on net immigration because every Briton who leaves the UK will come back and every non-Briton who comes to the UK will leave. This does not take into account the people – both Britons abroad and non-Britons in the UK – who apply for a different visa to stay in their adopted country. Do these conclusions also apply to the EU scheme? The impact on net migration of the potential EU scheme will depend on the details of the agreement between London and Brussels. Madeleine Sumption, director at the Migration Observatory, told the PA news agency that the size of the cap on the programme would be vital for the impact on net migration. She said the fact the UK sends more people to Australia, Canada and New Zealand than it receives from them 'probably results from the fact that the UK has a much larger population than they do, so we just have more young people potentially interested in moving'. With the EU scheme, Ms Sumption said, the population sizes are flipped – that is to say the EU's population is much bigger than the UK, leaving more young people who might be willing to come here. Therefore the smaller the cap on the number of visas is, the more likely both the EU and UK will fill their quotas. If both fill their quotas – and the quotas going both ways are the same – then the impact on net migration will be zero. However if the cap is large then it is more likely that there will not be as many Britons going to Europe as are coming in the opposite direction, which will bring up net migration. But, as with the existing schemes, both Britons in Europe and Europeans in the UK will eventually have to leave unless they find another visa, which over the long run should mean that the programme has a neutral impact on net migration. Links BBC – Today, 19/05/2025 Migration Observatory – What is the Youth Mobility Scheme and how does it work? (archived) – Entry clearance visas granted outside the UK (archived page and spreadsheet, using tab Data_Vis_D02) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Visitor visa statistics (archived) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Working Holiday Maker visa program report (archived) New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – Migration data explorer (archived page and downloaded spreadsheet. To download the correct spreadsheet, instructions can be found at (archived): In dataset select 'W1 work decisions', in time period select 'calendar year' and in variables select 'application substream', 'application criteria' and 'decision type')
Glasgow Times
41 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Can Liam Delap finally end the curse of Chelsea's number nine shirt?
The shirt had been unused for two full seasons, former manager Thomas Tuchel admitting 'nobody wants to touch it', after its last dozen occupants struggled to make a prolonged impact – including three club-record signings up front, but also a holding midfielder and a certain Dutch defender. Our new No.9. 😍 — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 5, 2025 Here, the PA news agency looks at the 'Curse of Khalid Boulahrouz'. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 2022-23 After arriving with a broken jaw sustained in a robbery at his Barcelona home and seeing his former Borussia Dortmund boss Tuchel sacked the day after his debut, the ex-Arsenal star failed to establish himself in west London. He was not even included in the squad for the Champions League knock-out stages, despite scoring two of his three Chelsea goals in the group stage. Romelu Lukaku, 2021-22 Romelu Lukaku struggled at Chelsea as Thomas Tuchel said the number nine shirt was 'cursed' (John Walton/PA) The Belgium striker returned from Inter Milan for £97.5m for a second spell at the club but within months, his frustrations became clear in an interview with Sky Sport Italia. Despite 15 goals in all competitions, it was no surprise when he was loaned back to Inter then Roma before joining Napoli. Tammy Abraham, 2019-21 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was the last inarguably-successful Chelsea number nine but amid over £250m spent to fill the troublesome shirt in the 18 years since his departure, academy product Abraham produced perhaps the most successful spell with 30 goals in two seasons to earn a move to Roma under former Blues boss Jose Mourinho. Gonzalo Higuain, 2018-19 The Argentinian's loan from Juventus yielded just five goals in 18 appearances. Alvaro Morata, 2017-18 Alvaro Morata spent only one season wearing the famous digit (Adam Davy/PA) A then club-record buy for £60m, the Spaniard scored 15 goals in his debut season but fell out of favour, netting nine more as number 29 before joining Atletico Madrid. Radamel Falcao, 2015-16 The Colombian scored once in 12 games in an injury-hit season. Fernando Torres, 2011-14 Fernando Torres had an inconsistent spell at Stamford Bridge (Anthony Devlin/PA) The then British-record £50m signing from Liverpool got the longest run at making the Blues' number nine shirt work for him, wearing it 172 times across three-and-a-half seasons. He scored 45 goals, including a memorable Champions League semi-final clincher against Barcelona, but several prolonged droughts saw him move on to AC Milan, on loan, and then Atletico Madrid. Franco Di Santo, 2008-09 Fourteen scoreless substitute appearances were all Di Santo had to show for his time in west London. Steve Sidwell, 2007-08 The former Reading midfielder managed only 24 appearances, scoring once. A largely-defensive player, he would have been a glaringly unlikely number nine, had it not been for his immediate predecessor… Khalid Boulahrouz, 2006-07 Khalid Boulahrouz's shirt number raised eyebrows (Max Nash/PA) The versatile Netherlands defender was assigned one of the few available numbers after his £8.5m arrival from Hamburg. He lasted one season and 23 appearances in all competitions before a loan to Sevilla and a permanent exit to Stuttgart. Hernan Crespo, 2005-06 The Argentina striker had already spent a season at Stamford Bridge wearing number 21 – scoring 12 goals – and a year on loan at AC Milan before Mourinho recalled him and gave him number nine. He added another 13 goals and a league title but soon left for Inter. Mateja Kezman, 2004-05 Inheriting the shirt from Hasselbaink, Kezman scored just seven goals in his sole season.
Glasgow Times
41 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Win fans over and dismantle Celtic – Russell Martin has work to do at Rangers
The former MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton manager takes over from Philippe Clement, who departed in February and was replaced by interim boss Barry Ferguson. The appointment of a new boss comes following the confirmation of the takeover by an American consortium of Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises while Kevin Thelwell recently officially joined the Light Blues from Everton as the new sporting director. It's all change at Ibrox and, here, the PA news agency looks at the in-tray awaiting Martin who has to quickly get his side ready for July's Champions League qualifiers. Win over the fans ✍️ Our new Head Coach, Russell Martin. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) June 5, 2025 There has been a mood of disgruntlement among many Rangers fans before and since the confirmation of Martin as the new man in the hotseat. Rangers supporters are unhappy with his performance in the Premier League, where he was sacked by Southampton after a horror start to the season, after bringing them up through the play-offs. There is the perception that Martin was too dogmatic in his possession-based style of play and paid the price in the English top flight. He is already under severe and unprecedented pressure to hit the ground running. Squad overhaul Ianis Hagi has left Rangers (Steve Welsh/PA) There's plenty of work to be done to overhaul Rangers' squad which ended up trophyless last season, albeit reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Rangers confirmed the departures of Ianis Hagi, Leon Balogun and Tom Lawrence with their contracts set to expire. Loanees Vaclav Cerny, Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Rafael Fernandes have also left the club while players like Robin Propper, Nedim Bajrami, Ben Davies, Kieran Dowall – the latter two who spent last season at loan at Birmingham – are expected to depart. Midfielder Lyall Cameron will arrive from Dundee but he will not be alone. Arguably, a new goalkeeper, right-back, left-back, two centre-backs, two wingers, a number 10 and a striker is required. Of course, much will depend on the style favoured by Martin and how much money is made available but the Light Blues will have a new look next season. What to do with Raskin and Dessers? Nicolas Raskin is a key man for Rangers (Andrew Milligan/PA) Midfielder Nicolas Raskin is arguably the club's biggest asset following a terrific season during which he broke into the Belgium national side. The 24-year-old, who signed from Standard Liege in January 2023 for a reported fee of around £1.3million has two years left on his contract. Rangers fans remain disgruntled about players like Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos who were allowed to run down their deals and leave for nothing. Enigmatic Cyriel Dessers has often been a frustrating figure since signing from Cremonese in 2023 but ended up top scorer in the Premiership last season with 18 goals while he netted 29 times for Rangers in total, taking his tally over two seasons to 51. Rangers fans appear split on whether the Nigeria international, contracted to 2027, should stay or go. But how much would it cost to replace him with a striker who guarantees the same goal return? Trophies needed Russell Martin guided Southampton through the play-offs (Adam Davy/PA) Martin may just have walked in the door but he will be expected to win silverware this season with Celtic dominating Scottish football. Rangers fans watched their Old Firm rivals clinch their 13th league title in 14 seasons – albeit the Light Blues had a better head-to-head in league games – and only a Scottish Cup final defeat to Aberdeen on penalties denied the Hoops a sixth domestic treble in nine years. It will be down to Martin to change that direction of travel. Euro qualifiers next month The appointment of Martin dragged on and Rangers are facing a race against time for next season. The Light Blues will have to go through three rounds of qualifying in order to reach the league phase of the Champions League, the first of which is July 22-23. Rangers return for pre-season training on June 23 and, somehow, Martin needs to assemble a squad to hit the ground running.
