HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that it has lodged an appeal against a deal designed to help Portsmouth Football Club (PFC) come out of administration.

In June, creditors backed a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) that would see the npower Championship club pay back 20p in the pound of debts owed and help safeguard its long-term future. However, HMRC announced it had lodged an application with London's High Court to have the CVA revoked or suspended and claimed that it is owed £13m by PFC - the amount needed to veto the agreement.

A spokesperson for HMRC said: "We don't think it's right that they are offered 20p in the pound against full repayment to others. Also, we cannot agree with the striking out of £13m of debt, which seriously undermined our ability to challenge the CVA. "HMRC feels it has been or will be unfairly prejudiced by the decision to accept the CVA, because we believe there were material irregularities in the way in which the votes of creditors were counted at the creditor meeting and because, to our knowledge, the full amount of our claim should have been admitted for voting purposes."

A spokesperson for the club added: "The joint administrators are concerned about the effects that this appeal will have on the club and its long-term future and are working tirelessly with their solicitors to defend the application and to obtain an expedited hearing date in order for this matter to be resolved as soon as possible." Image: Ben Hardinge/Flickr