Morecambe FC chief: Pensions issue was reason for transfer embargo

The Chief Operating Officer at Morecambe FC has explained the reason why a transfer embargo was imposed on the club.

Morecambe Football Club was reported to the Pensions Regulator earlier this month over non-payment of pension contributions, as reported by Beyond Radio on August 6.

And Steve Dewsnip, in an interview for the club channels on Friday, confirmed the reason for the embargo was due to "the ongoing pensions situation".

Mr Dewsnip said "a huge amount of work has taken place" to try to resolve the situation after the National League imposed the embargo earlier this month.

He said: "It goes back several months now, around February time, the club decided to change its pension fund administration from one firm of accountants to a new firm of accountants who we were also using for other matters.

"There was a missed contribution schedule that didn't get filed at the time, a purely administrative matter, that didn't get picked up by either (pension provider) Nest or the club's finance team.

"It got brought to attention pretty soon thereafter and there was a lot of work needed to recalculate pension contribution schedules to Nest.

"That has proved more difficult than anybody ever thought it would do, at the time, not helped by the change in pension fund administrator. We've been basically trying to play catch up ever since.

"There has been a huge amount of work taken place that has just come to a finish over the past week or so. We've not been able to make any payments to Nest, which may sound a little bizarre, but that's exactly how the system has been working.

"We have started to make contributions as we need to.

"There are some months that haven't actually been met yet.

"We've been in discussions with Nest pretty much certainly on a weekly, if not a two or three times a week basically over the last four or five weeks.

"It's not helping matters around the football club because it affects quite a few employees, both who are still with us and also who have left. It's affecting myself, I'm also a member of that scheme. So we're very keen to resolve this as soon as we can.

"The embargo that the National League has imposed on us has simply been because of the referral of that matter to the pensions regulator.

"I think when two or three payments are missed, that's something any pension provider has to do by law.

"We fully understand how that has come about, but it's not something to be complacent about, it's important that we get this sorted.

"(Club CEO) Ropinder Singh, (chairman) Kuljit (Singh Momi), myself, other members of staff here, have been working every single day on this for some time now.

Ropinder Singh

"We have had close discussions with the National League all the way through this process. As soon as that is rectified with Nest, which we believe will be in the next week or so, then we have been told by the National League that the embargo will be lifted straightaway.

"As the manager Adam (Lakeland) has referred to, we're very keen for that to happen as soon as possible. Hopefully that embargo won't be there for too much longer. 

"It's taken on a life of its own in recent weeks. Quite rightly people have been interested in the situation. I think hopefully people will realise it's not something the owners, the directors, the shareholders want to continue any longer than it needs to."

Mr Dewsnip also said the National League embargo, which was imposed on August 11 and which prevents the club from signing a new player or changing the terms of an existing loan, except where the terms of the embargo allow, "came completely out of the blue".

During the interview, Mr Dewsnip also commented on the recent censure statement received by Morecambe FC, from the Independent Football Regulator.

The club and its directors Kuljit Singh Momi and Harjit Singh from owners Panjab Warriors, became the first to receive a reprimand from the IFR, which was established by the government in 2025 to protect and promote the sustainability of English football.

The Halo Aerospace Stadium

The censure statement was issued to the club and owners "for failing to provide a timely and complete response to information requirements imposed on it" under the Football Governance Act.

Mr Dewsnip described it as a "slap on the wrist for the two directors and the football club itself".

He said the reason for the delay in providing information was due to "the chairman's illness during February and one or two other things".

He also said it "didn't have anything to do with financial problems or source of funds, that was dealt with, as I understand it, when the (Panjab Warriors) takeover first went through 12 months ago."

And Mr Dewsnip said: "That action the IFR felt they needed to take, bore no relevance whatsoever to the subsequent embargo that the National League has imposed" but he also said "the timing wasn't great."

During the wide-ranging interview, Mr Dewsnip said Morecambe FC is currently "in a state of change".

"That will continue as we try to reposition it, and ultimately...the intention is to make this football club a lot more sustainable than perhaps it has been in recent years," he said.

He also spoke about the recent loss of key staff, including members of management who had been involved in day-to-day operations at the club for many years.

"One of the things that struck me early on is there wasn't enough revenue coming in to the football club," said Mr Dewsnip.

"The overheads were too high. The club has been losing money year on year for as long as anyone can remember. 

"I think that although that nobody ever wishes for a football club to slide down a division or two or three, I think we've got to face reality that the infrastructure at Morecambe was still akin to a League One or League Two set-up.

"You can understand why the club has staffed up as it was rising through the leagues. Unfortunately as we are now playing in National League North, the revenue available to the club is now a lot less.

"I think it was essential that the club has had to cut its cloth accordingly. In an attempt to do that, we have cut the playing budget significantly from what it was a year or two ago. We have also managed to attract some great players.

"We decided we would remain as a full-time professional club which shows the commitment the owners have to position this club to bounce back to where we all think it should belong.

"We've managed to improve, we think, the football staff, the playing squad, on reduced numbers. 

"There were some members of staff who were on fixed-term contracts who were offered alternative terms of employment. There were some members of staff who we offered reduced terms. There were one or two roles we had to combine. There were some members of staff who decided, at the start of the summer and more recently, who decided it wasn't for them. There has been a certain amount of natural wastage.

"Everybody who has left the football club we wish the very best to and thank them most sincerely for their hard work over many years. I would have loved to be able to continue to work with many of those people.

"Nobody has been forced out of the door but I can understand, if you don't really know what's been going on inside (the club), and why the football club has had to take these decisions, I could understand people maybe reaching the conclusion, (with) big amounts of staff turnover, there must be something wrong.

"I would actually say the complete opposite. I would say that some of the plans the owners and senior management have for this club going forward, are really, really exciting.

"We need to drive more revenue into the football club.

"We've got plans to completely relaunch our hospitality and events business. This has been planned for some time. It will involve a facelift, a makeover, a rebrand, a relaunch. We want to offer a lot more to the local public here than has been done before.

"I know how committed Kuljit and his colleagues are to improving the stadium."

After four games in the National League North, Morecambe sit bottom of the table with one point, having come down from the high point of League One with three relegations in four seasons.

But Mr Dewsnip spoke positively about the potential to improve matters on the field.

"There have been quite a few successes at the football club in recent months," he said.

"We've attracted an exciting young hungry manager in Adam Lakeland, and his assistant Sam Walker.

Adam Lakeland

"How on earth would, or should, we be able to attract a manager from the division above, with a great reputation for getting a lot out of his teams, how could we attract somebody of that profile to come to Morecambe, if there wasn't an exciting vision for the future?

"The squad that the guys have built with the help of Patrick Noubissie, our head of recruitment, who works very closely with Adam, Ropinder and myself and the chairman on all these matters...we've assembled an exciting team.

"It takes time to gel. I don't think it will be too far away now."

Mr Dewsnip also spoke positively about the club's relationship with new stadium sponsors Halo Aerospace and other local businesses who continue to support Morecambe FC.

"There is so much good stuff, I feel, to shout about with Morecambe," he said.

"Panjab Warriors have received a certain amount of criticism over the past 12 months. But their commitment, not just by the (money) they continue to put into the club each week, it goes way beyond that. They are strong, resilient, they are in this for the medium to long term.

"They want to leave a legacy. They want to clean up, and there was a lot that needed cleaning up at this football club, and position this club for success in the future, and do whatever they can do to bring the good times back to Morecambe, which the fans certainly deserve."

Mr Dewsnip also encouraged fans who have any genuine questions about the future of the club to "come down and have a cup of tea, let's have a chat about it".

"I've seen some crazy things written (online) about people suggesting that they need to go off and set a Phoenix Club up.

"To whoever is behind that, I would say there is absolutely no need to be thinking about that. The owners are trying to do the right thing and they are desperate for the good times to return.

"I would say to the real fans, the loyal supporters of Morecambe Football Club, stick with us."

Read more: Morecambe FC censured by football regulator - Beyond Radio

MP offers support to staff after Morecambe FC reported to The Pensions Regulator - Beyond Radio