Southend United suffered net loss of £2.7 million

The club’s accounts have been published for the 2021/22 year have been published on Companies House, revealing the club lost £2.5 million in the financial year.

This increased further to £2.7 million once interest charges were added.

The account documents have been published as a group of businessman led by Justin Rees attempt to finalise a deal to take control of the club.

The takeover is still being held up by Southend Council’s due diligence along with the consent of the finance partner of current chairman Ron Martin.

After the figures were revealed, Southend United fans have called for the takeover to be completed as a matter of urgency so the club can start a new chapter.

David Matthews, who has been a fan for more than 50 years, said: “It is astonishing, especially given I, like many supporters, am a shareholder and as such should have been sent a copy of the accounts.

“But I haven’t been sent one and had to go to Companies House to download it.

“How we managed to lose £2.7 million seems incredible. Included in this is more than £800,000 written off as a loss on property owned.

“Numbers for which there is no proper explanation.

“We will never get an explanation, and we can only hope the consortium takes over as soon as possible.”

The documents also show that Southend United borrowed approximately £350,000 in 2021/22.

Terry Edwards, who has been supporting Southend for more than 40 years, added: “The tangled mess of Ron Martin’s tenure has been going on for far too long.

“The takeover needs to be completed as soon as possible so we can have some transparency.

“The club needs to be run professionally and competently.”

The Companies House document states the company’s liabilities exceed its assets by more than £21 million.

It adds: “As such this indicates that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Ron Martin was contacted for comment by the Echo.