The administrators in charge of finding the best buyer for Torquay United last night announced it has a preferred bidder - but stopped short of saying who that bidder is.
In a move that leaves space wide open for social media speculation, a statement appeared on the club’s website on Tuesday night that read: “Following on from the announcement last Friday that Scott Kippax, Neil Vinnicombe and Simon Haskew of Begbies Traynor have been appointed as joint administrators of the club, extensive work and discussions have been taking place behind the scenes over the past few days.
"Out of the firm bids received by TUFC, one party has now been identified as the preferred bidder. Although the preferred bidder will remain confidential at this stage, this news is the latest, and perhaps most significant yet, towards securing the club’s long-term future.”
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Fans are desperate for more news than that, with possibly three parties having put in bids to take the club forward - including a consortium led by businessman Michael Westcott, which is supported by Torquay United Supporters’ Trust and former Premiership and Torquay manager Neil Warnock.
Two other bids are believed to have been under consideration - but no-one behind those bids has come out publicly. There has been speculation that current director Mel Hayman and her father Ian Hayman were behind one of the bids.
The trouble is, after years of little to no information about boardroom matters coming out under former owner Clarke Osborne, and his chief executive officer George Edwards, the fact that the preferred bidder remains unnamed will be a spark in a vacuum on social media, with fans desperate to know more in what they hope will be the start of a open, rather than closed, era.
The short statement continued: “We will continue to provide supporters with further updates as and when possible, however in the meantime, we would like to place on record our thanks to all bidding parties, the Club’s staff, National League, Sport England, Lloyds Bank, Club’s creditors and most of all our beloved supporters for their hard work, assistance, generosity and patience during the past two months.”
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