Morecambe owner agrees to 'last-minute' takeover

Morecambe will begin their 2025-26 National League campaign against Boston on 9 August

Morecambe's owner says a deal to sell the National League club has been agreed after a "last-minute bid" came in.

Shrimps owner Jason Whittingham had previously said terms had been agreed with a Panjab Warriors consortium with a deal set to be formally completed on Monday.

The club's board of directors had stepped down with the deal still to be concluded.

But in a statement on Wednesday, Whittingham said an unidentified buyer had worked over the past 24 hours to pay outstanding wages as well as agreeing contracts pending the approval of a sale by the National League.

"He has already started preparing documentation for the National League to give their approval for the sale and confirmed his financial support for the club this coming season, provided his takeover is approved," the statement continued.

"This buyer will make their own statement shortly to introduce themselves and set out their plans for the club over the coming seasons."

Further announcements are set to follow on Thursday, the statement concluded.

The announcement of the latest bidder comes after a turbulent few weeks for the club before the 2025-26 National League season, following their relegation from the English Football League last term.

Morecambe's MP Lizzi Collinge said last week Whittingham's Bond Group should "get on with" the deal to sell the 105-year-old club after the Shrimps' board of directors threatened to put the club into administration if a sale was not completed.

Whittingham later announced he had "started the process to dismiss the board of directors", while denying claims he was stalling on the deal.

The board later returned when a deal to sell the club to Panjab Warriors looked set to take place.

That deal had been approved by the EFL in June with the group previously saying they had already paid £3.8m to Whittingham's Bond Group, alongside a separate payment of £630,000 to clear outstanding loans against the club.

The group also claimed they had also loaned a further £1.7m to the club over the past 14 months to "ensure its ongoing survival".

In a further statement issued on Tuesday, Panjab Warriors claimed the takeover was "seconds away from completion" despite the latest delay.