Clem Morfuni: Swindon owner says he remains committed to the club and is not looking to sell up
- Published
Australian businessman Clem Morfuni took over Swindon two years ago after a long legal battle
Swindon Town chairman Clem Morfuni said he has put £250,000 into the club to "stabilise" finances in recent weeks and denied he is looking to sell.
The Australian businessman took over the League Two club in July 2021 following a long legal battle.
He said he had injected the money in the past fortnight and will continue to do so "when needed".
Morfuni also confirmed all players had been paid last month on time in response to online speculation.
"There have been reports and speculation concerning player payments and HMRC issues which I can confirm have been paid and also paid on time," Morfuni said in a lengthy statement, external.
"In the past fortnight, I have injected £250,000 to stabilise the club and I will continue to stabilise the club as and when needed.
"We still encounter many difficulties due to the years of mismanagement from the prior ownership and these challenges are still painstakingly being worked through and paid for me.
"As I've emphasised before and will reiterate now: Swindon Town is not up for sale.
"However, from time to time we receive expressions of interest from potential people to buy the club entertaining such discussions does not equate to actively seeking a sale, even if some may interpret it that way."
The Wiltshire club had debts of £7.5m when Morfuni took over two years ago which was reduced to £1m in October last year in what was described as a step towards "complete financial security".
However, in August Morfuni confirmed he had sold shares in the club to two people in order to pay off some of the debt.
"The current club revenue is not sufficient to cover the costs to run the club," Morfuni continued.
"Our plan is to focus on new revenue streams for the club, we also need to renegotiate all of our less favourable commercial deals and enhance our offerings to generate additional revenue."
Swindon are currently 10th in League Two but were mercilessly dumped out of the FA Cup first round by National League side Aldershot, who were winning 7-0 before the Robins pulled four late goals back.