Potential buyer provides update on his bid to buy Southend United

Given the recent speculation surrounding a consortium bid for Southend United FC (SUFC), combined with the Club’s scheduled court appearance date on 4th October 2023, we would like to make a brief statement.

We confirm that a consortium has been formed to purchase Ron Martin's SUFC shareholding.

Most of the consortium members have a long association with the Southend area, and all are football fans.

Our first objective is to save the Club and then work hard to transform it into a sustainable operating model that is not vulnerable to the various ownership issues that have impacted the Club in recent years.

We are confident we have the skills, energy, and finances to help Southend United’s fortunes improve both on and off the pitch.

Discussions with Mr. Martin have been in progress for more than 10 weeks.

Any deal is particularly complicated due to the state of the Club's finances, the condition of Roots Hall, the non-viability of a new stadium at Fossetts Farm, as well as the ownership of the training ground and Roots Hall properties remaining outside of the Club.

Despite this, the consortium has submitted two bids over the past week, neither of which has been accepted.

We remain open to continued negotiations with Mr. Martin however it now seems unlikely that any deal can be agreed prior to the 4th of October court appearance date.

It is our understanding that Mr. Martin will ensure the Club avoids liquidation on the 4th of October, however, the threat of administration remains.

Administration impacts the Club significantly, on and off the pitch, as well as its numerous creditors who have supported the Club financially for many years.

As such, it has been our strong preference to avoid Administration, however this is of course not within our control.

We do not intend to make the full details of our bid public at this time except to note that it is centred around retaining and upgrading Roots Hall as the Club’s stadium, while taking ownership of that property plus the training ground back into the Club.

We believe this would release Mr. Martin to develop Fossetts Farm without a new stadium requirement, and as a result, are looking to him to contribute funds back towards the redevelopment of Roots Hall.

The structure of our bid and the decision to stay at Roots Hall have been discussed with Anna Firth MP, Sir James Duddridge, Cllr Tony Cox (leader of Southend City Council) and members of the Shrimpers Trust, each of whom have given their full support.

We appreciate updates such as this can answer some questions but raise new ones.

We also recognise this is a period of great concern and anxiety for fans so will keep in regular contact with the Shrimpers Trust to answer questions that may arise although there are some details we will not be able to share until the process has formally completed.