Morecambe owner breaks silence to confirm four potential buyers for club

Morecambe owner Jason Whittingham has broken his silence to say I that he is in talks with four potential buyers for the struggling League Two club and is looking to sell the club “as soon as possible”.

Whittingham has faced heavy criticism for his management of the club – including repeated calls from the board to sell and dissatisfaction from players – and Morecambe fans began fundraising last week in an attempt to buy a stake in the club.

A fortnight ago, a scathing letter from the club’s board warned of a ‘catastrophic outcome’ if Whittingham did not sell – but owner reassured I financing is in place while the sales process happens in the background.

The growing sense of crisis at Mazuma Stadium saw manager Ged Brannan leave the club a week after the end of the season while Morecambe dropped three points after a suspended EFL punishment was triggered.

The club currently only has a handful of professionals and the board has previously stated that administration is a possibility – although I He understands that these fears have diminished considerably in recent days. The appointment of Derek Adams on a rolling contract on Monday afternoon would appear to confirm that.

Although a sale does not appear imminent, further discussions with interested parties will take place this week. An American investor would be considered the favorite.

But Whittingham – who said there was a “ridiculous and one-sided narrative on social media” around the club – said his Bond group would continue to fund the Shrimps while the sale process continued. It appears that an injection of money, along with monthly salaries, was made last month.

In his written responses to questions put to him by IWhittingham said he was speaking out to “set the record straight” and wanted to correct a one-sided narrative that had been built around Morecambe.

He said: “There are currently four interested parties and conversations are ongoing with all of them in parallel until a reasonable time frame is agreed and agreed with one of them.

“They are all suitable owners and I intend to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”

Whittingham was accused of setting the asking price too high, but said it was based on an “independent valuation” of the club.

He said: “The asking price (of the club) is based on or around an independent valuation and any buyer will take this into account, as well as other factors relating to the club which they consider relevant.

“There is no precise price, but it is expected that buyers will be realistic in their ambition to own a League Two club which has its own stadium and which will be sold debt-free.”

Last month Morecambe chairman Rod Taylor spoke of the club’s fears for the future if a sale was not completed and wages were paid late.

In an open letter, the club’s board said assurances over the provision of future funds made “no sense”, but Whittingham refuted the claim.

“Bond Group has continued to fund the club and will continue to do so until the club is sold,” he said.

“For clarity, and despite the board’s comments in their open letter, the club has received funding through Bond Group or financial benefits well in excess of the budget we have agreed for the 2023/24 season.”

The next steps at the club will be interesting as a saga that has largely played out away from the limelight takes another turn. The Shrimps decided to re-sign former manager Adams on Monday after a positive meeting earlier in the day.

The club also plans to appoint a chief executive and finance director as the board looks to “get things going” after a stalled start to pre-season.

It is understood that Bond Group paid both wages and injected additional funds last month to enable the club to move forward with its pre-season plans.

Whittingham canceled a meeting with the supporters’ trust on Friday but was reportedly in contact with them this week.

The Shrimps Trust has raised more than £6,000 of a £50,000 target as part of a ‘Save our Shrimps’ campaign. Joel Shooter said the trust’s position remained that it would have to sell the fund, but the fund could be used to acquire a partial stake in the future.