Debt-ridden Punchestown Racecourse edged closer to liquidation yesterday when Horse Racing Ireland, the semi-state equestrian authority, said it would not revise its rescue package for the Kildare venue in the face of intense lobbying from former Punchestown chairman Mr Nick Bullman.
At a meeting of its governing board, Horse Racing Ireland insisted its proposal to establish a joint-venture company to manage the racecourse, backed with a €2.5 million loan was a "full and final" offer.
Already €7.5 million in debt, Punchestown risks being put into administration if, as is feared, its owner, the 134-member Kildare Hunt Club, rejects the proposal at a November 4th annual general meeting.
Mr Bullman, who stepped down as chairman last month in protest at the package, has written to the club members urging them to reject the package in the search of an improved deal Only a complete write-off of Punchestown's debts would guarantee the racecourse's long-term viability he said yesterday.
Mr Bullman repeated his call on Horse Racing Ireland to push for a reduction of Punchestown's debt to GT Equinus, a subsidiary of the Getty oil dynasty. Under a 1988 "passports for investment" agreement, GT Equinus acquired a €3.8 million preferential share stake in Punchestown, repayable in 2006.
As this investment would be rendered worthless if Punchestown went out of business, Horse Racing Ireland was strongly placed to buy out the Getty holding at a heavily reduced rate, Mr Bullman said.
But last night the authority's chief executive, Mr Brian Kavanagh, insisted that Punchestown's relationship with GT Equinus was a matter for the racecourse and lay beyond the authority's remit.
He rejected Mr Bullman's claim that its offer of a €2.5 million loan would saddle Punchestown with crippling interest repayments.
The rescue plan would spread payments over 15 years, allowing Punchestown sufficient opportunity to implement new management practices and turn the business into profit. He said: "It is our belief that Punchestown has a bright future if its debts are brought under control. This rescue package would put in place structures that will allow it to prosper in the future. But the matter is now out of our hands."
Slumping attendances and rising overheads have nudged Punchestown towards crisis over recent years. In 2001, the three companies that run the racecourse and are wholly owned by Kildare Hunt Club Ltd, posted losses of €1.03 million. It is set to record a €650,000 loss for 2002.
The recent payment of a €114,276 dividend to the Getty family was singled out as a cause of concern by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has taken over Punchestown's accounts.
