Morecambe owner 'committed to sale' as board steps down

Morecambe were relegated from League Two after finishing bottom of the table last season

Morecambe's owner says he is committed to selling the club despite the deal not going through as planned, with the Shrimps' board of directors later stepping down as directors.

The deal between Jason Whittingham's Bond Group Investments and Panjab Warriors was set to be formally completed on Monday.

But in a statement, Whittingham said he expected to need more time on Tuesday to complete the deal.

In a separate statement issued later on Monday, board members James Wakefield, Rod Taylor, Graham Howse, Mick Horton and Charlie Appleyard said they would step down but agreed with Whittingham that they would be on standby to rejoin on Tuesday should the sale be ready to complete.

"We made significant progress over the past few days, getting legal agreements drawn up and agreed in principle, subject to signing, with various stakeholders involved in the sale," Whittingham's statement said.

"Despite the expectation to complete today, unfortunately there are some final items to get signed off and it's likely we will need tomorrow to complete the sale."

His statement also contained a pledge to ensure staff are paid "as soon as possible" and that the club would avoid administration.

The delay follows a turbulent seven days which saw the board threaten to place the National League club into administration if Whittingham did not complete the sale last Tuesday.

He subsequently sought to remove the board the following day but "former directors" were invited back to "oversee the final stages of the sale process" later in the week.

The Shrimps were relegated from League Two last season after 18 years in the English Football League.