The Morecambe FC owner has released another statement in a tumultuous week for the club.
In an update released by Bond Group on Thursday afternoon, the owners of the Shrimps said they remained ‘fully committed to completing a sale of the club at the earliest possible opportunity.’
However, there was no mention of how all existing directorships of Morecambe Football Club Ltd came to be terminated yesterday, plans for any new directors, or when staff would receive the remaining two thirds of their wages for June, which are almost a week overdue.
The statement reads: ‘’Bond Group remains fully committed to completing a sale of the club at the earliest possible opportunity. All actions being taken are an effort to protect the club while its sale is completed to avoid the need for administration.
‘’Work is continuing and we still have reasonable prospects on the sale completing.
‘’Working capital, to pay staff and suppliers, remains on top of our agenda to ensure we maintain operations whilst we conclude a sale. We do ask creditors to continue the incredible forbearance they have shown to date to the club.
‘’We are doing everything possible to resolve the situation and ask fans, sponsors and the community to continue show as much support as they can for the club and staff during this incredibly difficult period.
‘’Any funds at the club or coming into the club are for the club and no one else.
‘’Work continues to complete the sale process and give Morecambe FC the fresh start the club and its community deserve.
‘’The National League have been consulted and updated on the sale process and, as they require more information and engagement with the buyer, we would expect them to be in dialogue with them imminently regarding next season.''
‘’Bond Group has not been a part of the board since the end of 2022 and, due to us having to source external funding, we made it clear that any budget reliant on Bond Group would need to be minimal unless other funds were sourced.
‘’A significant amount of that funding was from Panjab and also this season's budgets were in line with confirmation of their continued support.
‘’There are other buyers interested in the acquisition of the club however as it stands Panjab are the most advanced and so our focus remains on completion with them on the agreed deal.
‘’In an effort to achieve that we have organised a meeting for this evening and will update on that tomorrow.
‘’We are working to avoid administration, get staff paid and continue into next season.’’
On Wednesday the directorships of Morecambe Football Club Ltd of every existing board member – Rod Taylor, Graham Howse, James Wakefield, Charlie Appleyard and Mick Horton – were terminated, according to records at Companies House.
Minutes from the latest meeting of the Shrimps Trust on Wednesday evening reveal that all five directors had resigned, after Jason Whittingham from current owners Bond Group said he was starting the process to remove them from the board.
Read more: ‘Crisis point’ - Morecambe FC owner sacks board of directors as administration row rumbles on
This move was in response to the announcement on Tuesday that the board had informed Bond Group - of which Mr Whittingham is sole director - that they intended to put the club into administration, due to the proposed sale of the Shrimps to prospective new owners, Panjab Warriors, not being completed and claims that Bond Group's director was now "refusing to sell his shares in the club" to the buyers.
But on Wednesday morning, in a statement on the Morecambe FC website, Mr Whittingham (below) said he wished to "take control over the situation", so he can "resolve the matter of staff salary and the sale".
Read more: Administration threat as Morecambe FC owner given sale ultimatum
A limited company in the UK cannot legally operate without at least one director. If a company finds itself with no directors, it is in breach of company law and must take steps to rectify the situation by appointing a new director.
At time of publication of this article, Companies House records show that Morecambe Football Club Ltd has no current active directors.
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