Bury takeover finally completed and embargo lifted

Stewart Day has been named as Bury chairman following the completion of the club's takeover, while the Shakers' transfer embargo has been lifted.

Previous incumbent Brian Fenton and his board of directors announced their resignations on Friday in order to allow the new board to take control.

After releasing 16 players this month following relegation to League Two, Bury only have an eight-strong squad.

"Step one is to stop the rot and to start from a clean page," said Day.

"After spending the last three weeks in the due diligence process, I am delighted to officially confirm my position at the club.

"Over the next few days the new board of directors will be announced and key appointments made.

"I have taken time with [manager] Kevin Blackwell and have been very impressed with his level of professionalism and most of all his determination to... attract the best possible players.

"I will support Kevin to achieve this, however we must remember that at all times we must never allow this club to be in this financial position again. With this in mind, changes will be made in all departments as well as improving facilities both at the ground and improving the quality of our training facility."

Bury's financial difficulties were constantly in the news during a 2012-13 season which ended in relegation from League One after only two years in the third tier.

The scale of their problems was not made public until April, when the club announced they urgently needed £1m of fresh investment to survive.

The Shakers were placed under a transfer embargo in December after they received a short-term loan from the Professional Footballers' Association to help with a cashflow issue.

The loan was repaid in full a month later and However, the same sanction was imposed again by the Football League in February when Bury again asked the PFA for financial help.

It left manager Blackwell unable to add to his already threadbare squad, and a number of injuries meant he could only name two of his seven permitted substitutes in two of the club's final three league games.

A statement on the club website read: "The chairman and directors of Bury Football Club can confirm that all outstanding loans from the PFA have been paid in full. As a result of this, the Football League has confirmed to the club that any resulting transfer embargo has now been lifted.

"The club also wish to stress to supporters that all outstanding debts to HMRC have also been paid in full, which in turn has wiped out a winding-up order issued on the club by HMRC."

Blackwell, was appointed as Shakers boss in September 2012, added: "I am absolutely delighted that Bury is, at last, giving me the support that I have been asking for since I came to the club.

"I was very impressed with the attitude of the new chairman and his new philosophy for the club. I still strongly believe that Bury has the potential to be very successful on the pitch and I look forward to working with the new board in creating a brighter future for the club and for the fans.

"I have been given full authority to bring in the right calibre of player and depth of squad in order to put this club back to where we should be."