Panorama

Ripped Off? Join The Club

Panorama investigates a businessman targeting sports and social clubs with offers of financial help that can end up costing them everything. With little or nothing in the bank but assets worth thousands, these clubs are often the lifeblood of local communities across the UK. In one case, a football club claims to have lost its pitch, clubhouse, car park and nearly a million pounds from the sale of a plot of their land. As reporter Jon Cuthill reveals, they are just one club among many, including Conservative clubs and working men's clubs, who say they have been ripped off after seeking help with relatively small debts. Some, with long and proud histories, have ended up closing altogether, while many have had premises they once owned outright sold from under them.