The End Of The Trust?

Trust chairman David Hoyle releases a statement announcing that the consortium headed by Sean Connelly have withdrawn their bid to buy the club.

The statement, released hours ago, goes:

Official Statement

Stockport County Supporters Trust has announced that the investor group it had brought together to offer to buy County has after much deliberation withdrawn its bid to the Club´s Administrators.

Trust Chairman, David Hoyle said: ‘ With much regret the group the Trust had wished to join it in bringing Stockport County out of its current predicament and forward to a successful future, has been forced to withdraw from negotiations with Leonard Curtis & Co for the time being’. The key reasons were uncertainty about a number of important financial items, including the position of the former manager, Jim Gannon, who has served us so well, and inadequate and inaccurate information together with a lack of time to investigate these areas and prepare a proper business plan for the future. As you know we had brought together a group of highly respected business people who have a keen interest in supporting County. They were ready and able to acquire the club achieving within two weeks over £1m of committed funding to help meet their plans for the future. However, they came to the conclusion that it would be unwise to pay the requested £200,000 pound non-refundable deposit given the level of uncertainty that surrounded the Club`s previous and current financial circumstances. Given the type of detailed business plans that are necessary to prepare the club for a sustainable future, the timescales imposed prevented the consortium from achieving a satisfactory business model that met all the investors prerequisites.

Mr Hoyle went on to thank all who had worked so hard in recent weeks in the attempt to place a meaningful bid, including the people at Cheshire Sports who were very supportive. He added that ‘the people who are part of the bid group are still very keen to see Stockport County being saved and would still be prepared to talk with the Administrator or other suitable parties if this could help bring the Club out of its crisis’.

David Hoyle

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