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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Jon Robinson

Morecambe FC urge owners to complete sale 'as quickly as possible'

Morecambe FC have urged their owners to complete the sale of the club "as quickly as possible".

The club, who were relegated from League One at the end of the season, were put up for sale by Bond Group Investments in September as their owners battled the turmoil at their Premiership rugby side, Worcester Warriors.

Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring have owned The Shrimps since May 2018.

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The owners have been in talks with Sarbjot Johal's Sarb Capital Limited but no deal has yet been agreed.

Mr Johal, 20, could become the youngest owner in the Football League if the deal is completed.

Last week, supporters called on the tycoon to either speed up his takeover of the club or step aside.

Now the club themselves have issued a statement urging Bond Group to complete the deal.

Morecambe said: "The club was publicly placed for sale in September 2022, and since then there has been a lot of noise externally in the media, which has been somewhat destabilising for players, staff and supporters.

"Wages were paid late in March 2023 by a matter of days, which was devastating for everyone concerned at a critical point in the season and a totally unacceptable situation.

"We are now here, eight months after the club went up for sale, and we remain in a state of uncertainty as to when a sale is going to be completed, which severely hampers future planning on and off the pitch, until this is resolved and stability ensured.

"We have been informed by Bond Group that we need to work to a breakeven budget at the moment, resulting in a very much reduced playing budget and leading to the release of all our out of contract players earlier this week.

"Having seen such marked progress on and off the pitch since the beginning of 2020, through the collective effort of every single person associated with the club, we urge Bond Group, who remain solely and completely in control of the sale process, to complete a suitable sale of the club as quickly as possible to ensure we have the best possible opportunity to continue to grow as a football club and focal point for the community in the Morecambe and wider North Lancashire area."

Morecambe also said they expect to post a "significant loss" in the region of £750,000 to £800,000 for their 2023 financial year. The club added they made a profit of just over £1m in the prior 12 months.

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