Yeovil Town chairman Scott Priestnall has given two bidders seeking to buy the club this week to complete a deal.
In a long statement posted on Sunday night, the chairman confirmed he had agreed deals “with both parties many months ago” and said it was the buyers who had failed to complete a deal.
This statement says a lot but does not name either bidder, referring to “both parties“, so we are left to assume they are the groups led by Priestnall’s fellow director, Glenn Collis, and a group led by former Cardiff City commercial director, Julian Jenkins.
The chairman added if a deal is not concluded: “I will go back to my plans for building a better Yeovil Town FC, utilising our infrastructure to be better on and off the field.
“This will not include over-spending on players and bring about further financial insecurity but working towards a financially sustainable position, which at present we are nowhere near achieving but will give Darren every pound possible to have a competitive squad.
“I will present to supporter’s a long-term vision and plan to improve this club for future generations.”
Priestnall went on to say he had “no interest in selling this football club.”
The statement comes in response to the latest statement from the Glovers Trust issued on Sunday morning which called for those involved in the takeover to give clarity over the future of the club.
In its statement, the Trust said Priestnall had told a meeting of the Supporters’ Alliance Group that he would no longer financially support the club – a claim he denies.
In his own statement, he replies: “I actually stated as part of a larger conversation, why would I invest my family and children’s money somewhere I’m not wanted?
“I never said I would withdraw my support, simply looking for supporters groups to help with decreasing attendances and increasing negativity growing.”
He goes on to claim that changes in the accounts of CV Leisure, the company which the chairman used to buy the club, had written off more than £1m in loans.
Priestnall adds: “The actual reason for the changes is to write off more than £1m of shareholder loans across Yeovil Football & Athletic Club (The) Limited and Yeovil Town Holdings Limited.
“This will become apparent when the changes take effect in company’s accounts, therefore reducing the clubs debts.”
The statement continues to deny claims he is “a property developer” or “an asset stripper” and said the club would require “restructure on and off the field” if it crowds remain at around 2,000.
The developer statement could be a response to the creation of a company, Make Projects Limited, registered at the club’s Huish Park stadium on December 1 with Priestnall as its sole shareholder.
The registration on Companies House classifies the company as being in “development of building projects.”
It is the second company involved in this line of business set up by the chairman, who denied that Max Mae Limited, a company he established with business partner, Jed McCrory, in the summer had “nothing to do” with the club.
He concludes: “I understand there has been a desire from supporters groups and some supporters for myself to give clarity on the position before now, and any progression of a potential deal but I wanted to give the consortiums every opportunity to stand firm on assurances given and conclude a deal.”
If you want to brave reading the statement in full, you can do so – here.