Southend escape after settling tax bill

Southend United escaped winding up and administration petitions today in the High Court after paying a £2.135m tax bill.

The League One side had faced court action over the debt to HM Revenue and Customs.

Both sets of proceedings were dismissed today by Mr Justice Lewison after he heard that the debt was paid in full on Saturday.

A previous High Court hearing was told that HMRC originally presented a winding-up petition for a tax bill of £690,000, but applied to have the club put into administration when the debt became larger.

United would have had 10 points deducted if they had been placed into administration, taking them into the relegation zone.