Dumbarton rescue package hopes collapse as preferred bidder pulls out
Fans of the Scottish League One side rallied round, organising a GoFundMe, which raised over £122,000 to keep the club ticking over until a buyer could be found.
Owed £1million by the club's holding company Cognitive Capital Oxford based Gareth Phillips agreed heads of terms with administrators earlier this month in a proposal which would have averted litigation and retrieve his outstanding cash by taking the club out of administration, paying off outstanding creditors and pursuing the planning permission required to build homes on development land surrounding the stadium.
In a savage blow to hopes of saving the debt-ridden club, however, administrators Quantuma have now confirmed that Phillips' Pendragon Group Limited have ended their interest in buying the club due to health issues and forfeited the non-refundable deposit paid.
Insisting talks are already underway with alternative bidders Quantuma managing director and joint administrator Ian Wright said in a statement: 'On 15 April, Craig Morrison and I, together, the joint administrators of Dumbarton Football, announced that we had agreed Heads of Terms with Gareth Phillips, in a deal which would see the club exit from administration.
'With regret, today I must announce that due to ill health, Mr Phillips has had to withdraw his offer and in doing so has forfeited the non-refundable deposit which was paid.
'We are fortunate to be in a position where we have other credible parties who had expressed an interest in acquiring the club out of administration. We have already engaged with these parties and will provide a further update as soon as we are able to do so.'
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