Morecambe’s ‘concerning’ takeover saga and the mysterious potential buyer ...Middle East

When Morecambe travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea in the FA Cup on Saturday, the contrast between the two clubs could not be more acute.

The Blues’ wealthy owners at the top of the Premier League pyramid, their boardroom billionaires in a different world to their counterparts at League Two relegation battlers Morecambe, where a tangled, messy takeover saga is entering its third year and has caused frustration and anger among their committed fanbase.

The Morecambe story has largely played out with little or no national media attention but it deserves more focus.

Ahead of the introduction of an independent regulator for the game, the saga raises big questions about who should own our community football clubs and why fans are still rendered powerless to the whims of unpopular owners.

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Having first been put up for sale in September 2022 by businessman Jason Whittingham – whose Bond Group Investments owns the club – Morecambe have suffered points deductions, made late monthly wage payments and seen their playing staff gutted.

The club’s board, made up of Morecambe-supporting local businessmen and independent of the owner, have frequently clashed with Whittingham and have in the past accused him of putting an unrealistic asking price on the club.

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Morecambe enter the new year back in a frustrating holding pattern of having a prospective new owner in place who is struggling to make quick progress on the EFL’s owners’ and directors’ tests.

This time it is London businessman Kuljeet Singh Momi, who has negotiated the deal through his corporate vehicle Panjab Warriors Sports Limited.

Alongside fellow director Harjit Singh, they have agreed a price with Whittingham and have begun the beefed up set of tests that every prospective club owner has to go through before getting final, binding EFL approval.

Despite months of work, and committing finance to Morecambe that has been ring-fenced for use to finance January transfer deals to bolster Derek Adams’ struggling squad, a deal is yet to pass.

The EFL told The i Paper that the owners’ and directors’ test is “ongoing” but it’s understood that a resolution is not imminent and that situation hasn’t moved forward definitively in weeks.

It can be revealed that Momi’s group have been seeking a meeting with the EFL’s lawyers to try and move the takeover forward – a sign, at least, of their intention to complete the deal. More paperwork has also been supplied to the league in recent weeks.

But with the situation cloaked in non-disclosure agreements, there’s no clarity on what the issues are that need to be resolved – and few people on either side willing to go on the record to speak about it.

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A source close to the current ownership summarised the situation as progress is being made “albeit slower than any party wants”.

At a recent fans’ forum it was confirmed that Whittingham – who told The i Paper in the summer that he felt a deal could have been done before the season started – wants to have sold his majority stake in the Shrimps before the end of the current campaign.

But it is a confusing, sometimes contradictory, picture being painted.

And little of substance is known about Momi, apart from a statement released through the club after an FA Cup win over Bradford City in November where he set out his intentions to ensure the club “thrives on an off the field” and made promises to invest in facilities at the club’s Mazuma Stadium.

A more notable part of the statement was disassociating himself with former business partner Sarbjot Johal, the drinks entrepreneur who made a failed attempt to buy Morecambe in January 2023.

When The i Paper rang a number associated with Momi through one of his businesses there was a refusal to even give a name of who answered.

Asked if they would be willing to talk about Morecambe, they said: “It’s not possible.”

Invited to clarify further, they said “there’s so many reasons it’s not possible” before ending the call.

An open invitation from the club’s Supporters’ Trust to engage ahead of a potential purchase is also yet to be taken up, which has made some nervous.

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Tarnia Elsworth, the tireless chair of the club’s Supporters’ Trust, sums up the feeling of many in the fanbase.

“It’s concerning the length of time that it’s taking to get past the EFL owners’ and directors’ test,” she said.

“Of course we’re in a position where we thank Mr Singh Momi and Mr Singh for the money that they have put into Morecambe FC to help the playing squad in January, however we are concerned about how long this current situation can go on for. The longer we go without hearing from anybody, the more concerning it is.”

The Trust has been contacted by credible alternative investors who are waiting in the wings to see what happens next.

While the takeover drags on, Bond Group Investments will need to keep financing the club.

Those high interest loans are accruing interest that any alternative prospective buyer would need to pay off, making the delay something of a Catch-22 for Morecambe.

So while supporters will enjoy their day out this weekend, fear of what comes next stalks the club.

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