Sentinel: Jackson “Saved Port Vale”
The Staffordshire Sentinel reports in an exclusive that Vale investor Peter Jackson helped Valiant 2001 in their efforts to purchase the club after according to Jackson: “Charles Machin announced he wouldn’t sign guarantees for the deferred consideration of £250,000.”
Jackson told the Sentinel that: “I was heavily involved in the acquisition with Bill Bratt and Charles Machin. We got to a pretty sensitive point and Charles Machin announced he wouldn’t sign guarantees for the deferred consideration of £250,000.”
Administrator Bob Young also agrees with Jackson’s view of events saying: “Mr Machin was going to stand as guarantor, but decided not to. I think that is when Peter Jackson stood in.”
However, Charles Machin told the Sentinel that: “I had such a bad relationship with Bob Young I though if anything happened the first person he would go for would be me. I also said I thought we were in over the top and we were taking too many big risks.”
It is understood that Peter Jackson also helped to secure majority shareholder Bill Bell’s vote for Valiant 2001 with a deal secured through Bell’s solicitors. Norman Tizley, Bell’s solicitor has confirmed to the Sentinel that an approach came from Jackson.
Jackson told the Sentinel that he had verbally cleared the Bell deal with Mr Machin – but Machin denies this and says he rang Bell’s solicitors to tell them it was unacceptable.