Nuneaton Borough: Nick Hawkins quits as owner of National League North club

Nicky Eaden (left) was Nuneaton manager when new owner Nick Hawkins arrived on 2 November

Nuneaton Borough owner Nick Hawkins has left the financially-challenged National League North club - after just three months in charge.

The former non-league footballer took over at Liberty Way on 2 November.

But, having been 21st when he arrived, they are now bottom, 15 points from safety with 13 games left and in danger of relegation to the seventh tier.

With debts believed to be about £100,000, the club are looking to find 10 local investors at £10,000 per head.

Boro, founder members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979, the original fifth division, had been under threat of going out of business for the second time in just over 10 years when Hawkins took over.

Former Nottingham Forest trainee Hawkins, who runs a refurbishment company, came in to rescue them.

But a statement issued on Tuesday said that he had "taken the club as far as he could" and that the "future of the club would be best served in the hands of people from Nuneaton".

Port Vale owner Norman Smurthwaite also owns Nuneaton's Liberty Way ground, which he bought in June 2018

Nuneaton's club statement

That statement continued: "The shares in Borough Leisure Ltd, the parent company of the club, will be held in trust by manager Jimmy Ginnelly until new shareholders can be found.

"The club is completing a prospectus for interested parties and will be aiming to find 10 backers, who will take 10% of the shares each, for a rolling payment of £10,000 each season.

"The finer details will be available, upon request, to all interested parties.

"He (Hawkins) will not be listed as a creditor and does not hold any director loans to be repaid."

Hawkins was due to appear on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire at 18:00 GMT.

Boro, who reformed as Nuneaton Town as a phoenix club when they first went bust in 2008, were allowed to revert to their name of Nuneaton Borough in 2018.

But they have so far looked unlikely to get back to their most fondly remembered days at their old Manor Park home.

As Nuneaton Town, they did briefly get back to the fifth tier in 2012, within four years of their reformation, spending three seasons there before relegation under Liam Daish in 2015.

Kevin Wilson led them to sixth in National League North a year later, just missing out on the play-offs by a point.

But after finishing 12th and 13th in successive seasons, this term they have won just three times in 29 league games under Nicky Eaden and then Ginnelly.