Bradford fans will today discover if there is another twist to the club's financial crisis as the Bulls edge towards administration.
Directors of the beleaguered Super League club were yesterday involved in frantic last-minute talks with potential investors in an effort to avoid placing it into the hands of administrator Brendan Guilfoyle.
The Bulls last week filed a notice of intention to enter administration in order to buy them extra time but the moratorium keeping the taxman at bay ends today.
Up to £1.2million is needed to safeguard the Super League club's future until the end of the season, with HM Revenue & Customs threatening to wind up the club over unpaid tax.
It is thought the club currently owes £98,000 in PAYE tax from May and the same amount for June, plus an outstanding VAT bill of £250,000 from the sale of the Odsal lease to the RFL, while the monthly wage bill is over £200,000.
Guilfoyle, an insolvency expert and partner in the P&A Group who conducted the independent financial review of the Bulls, would be the appointed administrator if the club fail to come up with additional funds.
"I know the directors are making strenuous efforts to find investors but I do fear that administration is looming," he said.
"I'm still waiting to hear from them and I am planning to meet them mid-morning to get an update."
Fans rallied around earlier this year, responding to a plea from former chairman Peter Hood by raising around £500,000 in a fortnight, but Guilfoyle revealed the club still need a further £1million after conducting a financial review.
"If the club does go into administration it will be a very challenging administration for me because there's no money," he added.
"I'll then have the immediate challenge of trying to secure the wages for July, which are due in the middle of next month."
If the Bulls go into administration they would almost certainly be docked league points - four if the recent examples of Crusaders and Wakefield were followed - but, more importantly, it would leave the club vulnerable to losing some of their best players.
