More details have emerged in court over a second ‘debt’ owed by Swindon Town FC that could see them wound-up.

The club are said to owe around £312,000 to another company.

It emerged in a hearing on Tuesday (August 2) where a judge ruled that a winding-up petition brought against the company that owns the club, by American company AC Sports Wiltshire LLC, also known as Able, should be dismissed.

Deputy Insolvency Judge Stephen Baister found that there was a “lack of clarity” of the petition debt and that Swindon Town Football Company Ltd, the firm that owns STFC, is “entitled properly to test Able’s case”.

That cannot be done in a summary proceeding under a winding-up petition, he said.

But after Judge Baister handed down his ruling, Simon Hunter, representing supporting creditor Centreplate UK, applied to be substituted into the winding-up petition.

Mr Hunter told the court that his client claimed £312,533.63 of unpaid debt, once interest is accounted for.

No further details as to the nature of the debt were provided.

David Eaton Turner, on behalf of Swindon Town, said that there was a “very substantial dispute to the debt”.

He said: “There has been an enormous amount on the company’s plate and one of the things it wished to do was discuss with Mr Hunter’s client about the debt.

“It’s not going to come as a surprise to Mr Hunter there’s a very substantial dispute to the debt that he has claimed.”

He said £40,000 has already been paid on account, but the vast majority was disputed – leaving only around £16,000 as undisputed.

Addressing Judge Baister, Mr Eaton Turner said: “What my primary submission was going to be, first of all, it would be applicable in the circumstances to exercise your discretion not to allow substitution.

“This is a case where this petition has been hanging over the company since November last year.

“It’s a matter of common sense that the existence of any petition has an adverse effect on any company trying to dig itself out of a hole left by its former owners.

“You have found that this (petition) was essentially an abuse of process, that this was a petition that ought to be struck out.

“It would leave the company labouring under the disadvantages that it has been labouring under since last November.”

Judge Baister decided to adjourn the case for at least ten days to allow the club to “articulate” its reasons over why Centreplate should not be substituted.