Morecambe owner sacks club board 'to avoid administration'

Morecambe finished bottom of League Two last season

Morecambe owner Jason Whittingham has sacked the club's board a day after they said they would place the club in administration if it was not sold.

The beleaguered Lancashire club's board put two statements out on Tuesday that gave Whittingham's Bond Group Investments until 18:00 BST to complete a protracted sale to Panjab Warriors.

However, the deal was not finalised and Whittingham has now said he has "started the process to dismiss the board of directors with immediate effect in order that we can take control over the situation".

He added this would give the Bond Group "the required additional time to ensure that the club has the best chance to avoid administration".

The Shrimps will play in the National League next season after they were relegated from League Two.

Morecambe's MP Lizzi Collinge said on Monday that Bond Group should "get on with" the deal to sell the 105-year-old club.

On Tuesday the directors initially released a statement saying they would give Whittingham until 16:00 BST, before allowing an extra two hours after "new information came to light".

This second deadline passed without the sale going through and in a third statement of the day, the board said that they would be contacting administrators "at the earliest opportunity" on Wednesday.

Whittingham, who said the club was at a "crisis point" but denied claims he was stalling on the deal, said there would be further communication on Thursday.

Morecambe misery continues

Whittingham, who oversaw the takeover of the club in 2018, previously told BBC Radio Lancashire that he "could not wait to get out" of the then League Two club in an interview in January.

Since then the club, which reached League One in 2021, have been relegated from the English Football League (EFL), meaning they will play in the National League next season for the first time since 2007.

The deal to sell the club to Panjab Warriors was approved by the EFL earlier in June.

Panjab Warriors said last week they had already paid £3.8m to Bond Group, alongside a separate payment of £630,000 to clear outstanding loans against the club.

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