Allegations made against Scunthorpe owner

With the cupboards bare, bills to pay and another relegation looming, Scunthorpe United fans were holding out for a hero. Then David Hilton arrived.  The Nottingham-born businessman bought the club from the deeply unpopular Peter Swann in late January, clearing a six-figure tax bill and pledging to take Scunthorpe back to the English Football League.

An investigation by The Athletic has found that a man we strongly believe to be Hilton was sentenced to two years in prison for 15 counts of fraud by false representation under the name of David Anderson.

In a case that started at Nottingham Crown Court in late 2014, Anderson was also disqualified from being a company director for five years after pleading guilty to 15 charges.

Hilton has made no secret of the fact he was born David White and changed his name to Hilton for unspecified “family reasons”. In fact, until very recently, Hilton still had a Facebook account under the name of David White.

It is unclear if Hilton complied with the terms of the current non-League owners’ and directors’ test (OADT), overseen by the English Football Association (FA). It must be completed by every owner or director and requires the disclosure of “previous or other names”. Hilton’s form is not publicly available and Hilton did not reply when The Athletic asked if he had disclosed any previous names on the form.

Asked about this and David Anderson’s conviction for fraud, an FA spokesperson said: “We are aware of these serious allegations and are looking into them.”

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, convictions of under two years and six months are considered spent after four years. For the vast majority of professions, you do not have to disclose a spent conviction when applying for a role and that has certainly been football’s attitude in the past.

Under pressure to beef up their rules before the independent regulator does it for them, the English Football League and Premier League have already revised their OATDs. From this summer, the tests now say that any individual with two or more fraud convictions, whether they are spent or not, must disclose them. The FA, which is responsible for the non-League OADT, is considering a similar requirement.

As the source of Hilton’s wealth remains unclear — there is certainly nothing filed at Companies House that suggests he has the ability to fund Scunthorpe — and there is no other readily available evidence of any other source of significant funds, it is only inevitable his ownership of this community asset will come under greater scrutiny.

Hilton is a man who says he “buys and sells land for a living” but, under different aliases, has created a long list of short-lived businesses. Eleven companies in which he — as either White or Hilton — has been named as a director have been dissolved since 2008, with none in existence for more than three years.

Hilton’s takeover of Scunthorpe, signed off in February, included neither Glanford Park nor the adjoining land that has always commanded the higher value. He paid only £3 for the club but agreed to settle a tax bill of just under £200,000 and pay January’s wage bill, although he also acquired the £60,000 that was sitting in the club bank account.

The real deal was for the club’s property assets. For those, Hilton agreed to pay Swann a figure in the region of £3million, with a completion deadline of May 24.  This is now the subject of a court action.

Ground share?

The Athletic has been told by sources close to the club, who wish to remain anonymous to protect their jobs, that Hilton has a deal in place with Gainsborough Trinity, a Northern Premier League club based 16 miles away from Scunthorpe, to rent their ground, The Northolme. The National League has sanctioned the move, should it be required, but with a capacity of just over 4,000 and only 500 seats, it can only be a short-term fix.

At the start of April, Hilton upset many fans by revealing his intention to close down the club’s academy and move training to Ilkeston, his old club, 70 miles away.

The final months of last season might have been disastrous but, after an ambitious recruitment drive, Scunthorpe are the odds-on favourites for promotion. They also remain a full-time professional outfit and have a proven leader at this level in the dugout in Jimmy Dean, who won manager of the month for August.

Attendances have also been remarkably resilient. Even last season, the average gate was 3,259.  Off-field disquiet, however, has continued. Hilton was absent when Scunthorpe’s relegation was confirmed by a 2-0 loss to Oldham Athletic last season and he has overseen a turbulent summer of redundancies and resignations.

Sitting at the back of the court with The Athletic last week was an observer who described himself as “a lifelong fan and shareholder”. He did not wish to share his name but said he was very pleased that we were there, too. “I don’t trust the new bloke or the old one,” he said. “And I probably trust the new bloke even less.”

This is brilliant investigative journalism by The Athletic and an electronic subscription to this publication is excellent value.