Off Field Panto Season Resumes At Dean Court

Last updated : 19 April 2009 By Bournemouth Co-Ordinator
With rumour, and counter rumour going about recently that a deal was about to be concluded, following a fresh submission from the Murry Group, it would appear that there's a further twist in the sorry saga, admist claim and counter claim.

In a statement made by current Chairman, Paul Baker, he is quoted in the Bournemouth Evening Echo (click on the link for the full statement) as saying:

I had hoped to be making a joint statement today in conjunction with new owners but despite my best endeavours in accepting three previous offers from the Murry Group, only for them to renege on the agreed deals, I was still prepared to try and reach an amicable agreement with them to take control of the club.

There has been a lot of debate within the supporter base over claims that Sport-6 were holding up negotiations to suit their own aims and, unbelievably, claims that I was holding the club to ransom.

However, now is the time to give you the facts regarding my dealings with the Murry Group to update the fans and media.

As previously stated, I reached a decision back in December 2008 to sell my shares in AFC Bournemouth. The reason I wanted to sell was because I could no longer fund the club going forward due to the recession biting deep into my business portfolio.

An agreement was reached with Adam Murry for him to purchase my 50 per cent shareholding on New Year's Eve. However, he reneged on the agreement due to the fact he could not raise the finance. The door was left open to the Murry Group and a further approach was made from them in late February but this time to purchase 100 per cent of the share capital.

Agreement was reached in early March and at this point Alastair Saverimutto left the club so that the way was left clear for the Murry Group to act as shadow directors in running the club with my permission and also to let them complete their due diligence.

Then, on March 24, 2009, they withdrew their second offer and lodged a third offer for the club. This was accepted on March 25, 2009. We then forwarded them a draft of the Share Purchase Agreement for them to kick around so that the final version could be drawn up.

A further two weeks passed and again they did not respond to any of my communications or my lawyer's emails. At this point I want everyone to be aware that the guaranteed money they had offered was £60,000 spread over 12 months at £5,000 per month.

I had been urging them to make a statement to the fans as, effectively, I'd been gagged as part of the agreement. I continued to receive no communication from them so on Wednesday, April 8 2009 I sent them an email saying if they did not respond by midday on Thursday April 9, then I would assume they no longer wanted to proceed with the agreed deal. They missed the deadline. But at 9pm on Thursday evening Adam Murry sent me a text confirming I would receive an email the following morning, Good Friday, April 10 2009.