Serepisos gives up Phoenix licence, business consortium takes over

UPDATED 12.15pm: Terry Serepisos has given up the licence for his football club the Wellington Phoenix.

Football Federation of Australia chief executive Lyall Gorman told a packed media conference that Mr Serepisos has relinquished the playing licence held by his company Century City Football.

“He’s agreed to relinquish his licences in the best interest of football in New Zealand and for the Phoenix - and probably in the best interests of himself at the moment as he moves on to address other part of his life," Mr Gorman. Mr Serepisos plans to hold his own media conference in just over an hour.

Mr Gorman said a new licence has been issued for Welnix, a company headed by Wellington businessman Rob Morrison - brother of high profile Wellington businessman Lloyd Morrison.

Mr Morrison said the team would remain in Wellington and that Welnix is a vehicle for a number of local businesspeople who were keen to see the club prosper. These include a range of well-known Wellington businessman as investors: Infratil chairman and NBR Rich Lister Lloyd Morrison, Gareth Morgan, Cambell Gower, James Brown and Henry Tait.

Welnix, a new company which was incorporated just last week, is 100% owned by Investnix Holidings which, in turn, is 100% owned by investment banker and company director Rob Morrison.

Mr Morrison said he hoped to retain all current players and staff.

“We have absolute faith in Ricki,” he said of Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert, who is understood to be owed $100,000 by the Phoenix.

FFA's Mr Gorman declined to directly answer questions over reports player and staff are owed wages, but said the FFA would be examining the books of the Phoenix over the weekend to ensure player welfare concerns were addressed.

Mr Morrison is chairman of state-owned Kiwibank, before which he was chairman and ceo of Hong Kong–based brokerage, investment banking and private equity group CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. Before joining CLSA, he was an executive vice president and head of equities at Bankers Trust Australia and ceo of Bankers Trust New Zealand.

A hastily-organised press conference is taking place at noon at Wellington’s overseas passenger terminal to discuss the future ownership of the Phoenix Football team.

It is expected current owner Terry Serepisos will lose control of the club to a consortium of Wellington-based businessmen including NBR Rich Lister Lloyd Morrison.

Mr Serepisos, who brought the club to Wellington in 2007, has come under enormous pressure in the past six months as creditors brought a series of bankruptcy and summary judgment applications before the courts.

The National Business Review broke the news in February Mr Serepisos appeared to have been scammed by alleged fraudster Western Gulf Advisory who promised him a $US100 million loan attracting interest of only 4.07% in return for upfront fees understood to be $US1.6 million.

Mr Serepisos later told the Dominion Post he expected the Bahrain-based WGA would also sponsor the Phoenix and ensure its financial survival.

Mr Serepisos was in Sydney earlier this week trying to convince Football Federation Australia he had the required financial stability to support the club.

It is understood FFA considers Mr Serepisos’ use of Phoenix shares as security for a loan from Mark Dunajitschik to be a breach of the licence agreement required to run the club.

An attempt last week by Mr Serepisos to secure funding from the Hong Kong-based Wellingtonian William Henderson failed.

Mr Henderson told the NBR: “There’s no way we will have any engagement with [Mr Serepisos]. Obviously around him everything is crumbling,” Mr Henderson says.

At the High Court in Wellington last month Mr Serepisos outlined a proposal to sell down his entire property empire over two years.

The court was told a creditors' meeting to consider the proposal was supposed to happen today, but the NBR reported yesterday significant creditors had not been informed of the proposal and no meeting had been scheduled.

Mr Serepisos is scheduled to appear in the High Court on Monday to face an application for bankruptcy.