THE future of Portsmouth Football Club now lies partly in the hands of hundreds of small Hampshire firms who are owed money in its collapse.

Administrators of the debt-hit club have sent out the Creditors Voluntary Agreement (CVA) to all those owed cash and it hits doormats this week.

The proposal to pay 20p for every pound owed is key to the club’s future.

If companies don’t accept the offer, which sees the sum go up to 25p if Pompey return to the Premiership within five years, then it’s likely the Football League will hit the club with a further points deduction next season. The club was slapped with a nine-point deduction earlier this year by the Premier League for falling into administration and was subsequently relegated.

Up to 400 small firms, many from Hampshire, are owed from £2 to more than £100,000 in the financial meltdown of Portsmouth. Everything from Hampshire printers and food suppliers to radio stations, law firms, shop fitters and even trophy makers have been left out of pocket.

As previously reported in the Daily Echo, Hampshire insolvency experts, Carl Faulds from Portland and Steve Powell from HJS, have been appointed to fight for a fair deal for small firms in the negotiations.

The club owes £22m to football creditors, which will be taken care of by the Premier League, while unsecured creditors are owed £83m. The CVA offer, which is put to a vote at a meeting on June 17, equates to just £16.5m.

The more creditors are owed, the more their vote counts towards the 75 per cent approval rating needed to back the offer and avoid starting life in the Championship on minus figures.

The CVA assures creditors there will be no funds available for player transfers next season and that the bill for players’ salaries will be slashed from £43m to £13.6m.