Portsmouth Football Club (PFC) has confirmed that it has become the first English Premier League club to be forced into administration after a buyer failed to materialise.

Andrew Andronikou of accountants UHY Hacker Young, as well as Peter Kubrik and Michael Kiely, have been appointed as joint administrators of the troubled Hampshire club, which is believed to be up to £70m in debt. PFC chief executive Peter Storrie has announced that he will resign from his position, but intends to work with current owner Balram Chainrai and administrators to secure a new owner for the club.

It is hoped that the move will prevent the club from going out of business, but will lead to a nine-point deduction under Premier League rules - a move that is likely to facilitate PFC's relegation. A Premier League spokesperson said: "The Premier League can confirm it has received notice from Portsmouth FC that it has suffered an Event of Insolvency and entered administration. The board will now convene to invoke its rules and policy in relation to this matter.

"The board will also meet the administrator at the earliest opportunity to receive their views on the financial status of Portsmouth FC and set out the conditions for the club to fulfil its commitments for the remainder of the season." The news comes as fellow Premier League outfit Arsenal Football Club posted a 44 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the six months ending 30 November 2009.

Property sales and offloading part of the Queensland Road development site has also enabled the club to reduce its net debt to £203.6m. Image: Ben Hardinge/Flickr