Morecambe FC sale process reaches 1,000 days as takeover ‘progresses toward a conclusion’

Thursday, 29 May 2025 11:24

By Beyond Radio News

Today marks a thousand days since Morecambe Football Club was officially put up for sale.

On September 2, 2022, owners, Bond Group, issued a statement that said they were "now preparing the club for sale, part of which involves Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring stepping back from their positions on the board of directors".

A long process has since followed, with Morecambe FC going from being a League One club at the time of the announcement, to slipping back into non-league football for the first time since 2007, during the period.

Players and managers have come and gone. Prospective new owners have come and gone. Frustrations in the fanbase and in the boardroom have grown. All, with the club still not sold.

Prolonged interest from Midlands-based businessman Sarbjot Johal ultimately came to nothing, and now, Hounslow-based company Panjab Warriors remain in prime position to complete a takeover, after it was revealed that a deal had been agreed as far back as July 2024, and a statement from the businessman fronting the takeover bid, Kuljeet Singh Momi, appearing on the club’s official online channels last November, confirming the interest.

Fast forward to now, the end of May 2025, and although the club remains in limbo, there are hopes that finally a resolution to the protracted process could finally be found.

Earlier this month, in a meeting between club officials and the Shrimps Trust, the board of directors at the club said: ‘’The sale does now appear to be progressing toward a conclusion and a draft conditions letter and secure funding agreement supplied to all parties by the EFL (English Football League) is now under final review.

“In the interim, the current owner has confirmed a budget that will enable the manager (Derek Adams) to bring in new players and the manager is working hard to do so.”

Morecambe FC will no longer be members of the EFL on June 7, and on the day will be ratified as members of the National League at their AGM.

Fielding a question raised by a supporter, about whether Bond Group and Panjab Warriors were allowing the club’s EFL membership to elapse in order for a deal to be done using the National League’s owners test instead, the club said: “The possibility was discussed when our relegation was confirmed but all parties, including Panjab Warriors and the EFL, expressed a real desire to conclude the process before the National League is officially constituted at its AGM on June 7.

“The EFL have been especially clear and supportive in confirming that we remain an EFL member club and they are committed to treating us as such.”

Here is a timeline of events since Morecambe Football Club went up for sale a thousand days ago.

MORECAMBE FC - THE SALE SAGA

September 2022 - Bond Group Investments, owners of Morecambe FC, put the club up for sale.

January 2023 - Midlands-based entrepreneur Sarbjot Johal was linked with an attempt to buy the Shrimps.

February 2023 - Morecambe FC confirmed Mr Johal's interest. Shrimps co-chairman Graham Howse said: "Sarbjot Johal is eager to start the project to take the club on to a new level, subject to satisfactorily navigating the EFL Owners and Directors’ test.

"Sarbjot, through his company Sarb Capital, has recently purchased equity in the club, injecting more than useful income into us.

"I am, along with Sarbjot, keen that the process should now move on at pace to come to a positive conclusion."

The EFL invited Mr Johal (below) to provide more information to enable a deal to progress.

In a statement at the time, they said: ‘’Whilst some of the information requested several months ago has been received, further details are still required.

‘’No approval on any change of control at Morecambe will be made until the proposed purchaser and club satisfy in full the requirements of the EFL’s regulations and the appropriate levels of due diligence are completed.’’

March 2023 - Mr Johal's company made a further cash injection into the club after staff wages were delayed.

April 2023 - Sarb Capital provided further funds for the club.

May 2023 - Morecambe were relegated back to League Two after two seasons in League One.

Later that month, the board of directors publicly urged the club’s owner to sell up, as it was revealed the Shrimps made a loss of more than three quarters of a million pounds, the season before.

In the statement, they said the "state of uncertainty" over the sale was hampering efforts to plan for the following season.

August 2023 - The Shrimps received a suspended three-point deduction after the club’s wages were paid late in the 2022/23 season.

November 2023 - Manager Derek Adams left Morecambe and was replaced by Ged Brannan.

December 2023 - Morecambe FC’s board of directors issued a lengthy statement with their concerns about the immediate future financial stability of the club, and calling for immediate steps be taken to move forward with a sale.

They said "no potential new owners had gone through the EFL's Owners & Directors Test" and that the club was at "serious risk" unless it was sold soon.

March 2024 - Supporters group the Shrimps Trust organised a mass protest before the Morecambe v Wrexham game to highlight their concerns over the lengthy sale process.

April 2024 - Morecambe FC were docked three points and Jason Whittingham (below), director of Bond Group the club's owners, was fined, as the suspended three-point deduction from August 2023 was activated due to a designated club account not being kept at required levels.

May 2024 - The board urged Bond Group to complete the sale of the club to avoid a "catastrophic outcome" and urged that they accept an offer from a US-based potential buyer.

June 2024 - Jason Whittingham told TalkSPORT that he hoped to agree terms and make an announcement on a sale of the club within the next two weeks, with an un-named buyer. He also said that "four credible buyers" were interested in purchasing the club.

Morecambe FC owner claims ‘four credible buyers’ are interested in purchasing club - Beyond Radio

That month, Derek Adams also returned for his third spell as manager of Morecambe.

October 2024 - The Shrimps board announced they'd had talks regarding the sale, with a representative of prospective un-named purchasers.

November 2024 - The Shrimps Trust organised another mass fan protest at the Morecambe vs Port Vale game, to highlight the fact that the sale still hadn't been completed over two years on.