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Image source, Rex Features
Morecambe were relegated to the National League last season and will play in English football's fifth tier for the first time since 2007 next month
Morecambe's board of directors say they will begin the process of putting the club into administration later on Tuesday if its owner does not sell the Shrimps.
A protracted takeover of the club by the Panjab Warriors consortium has still not reached its conclusion, and on Friday the board alleged that owner Jason Whittingham's Bond Group Investments were "considering reneging", external on the deal.
Morecambe's MP Lizzi Collinge said on Monday that Bond Group should "get on with" the deal to sell the 105-year-old club.
But in a fresh board statement made on Tuesday lunchtime, the directors said an ultimatum had been issued to Whittingham as he was "again refusing to sell his shares in the club" which would result in staff wages going unpaid.
The board initially set a deadline of 16:00 BST but later extended that deadline, external to 18:00 BST "after new information came to light".
BBC Radio Lancashire have again contacted Whittingham for comment.
In Tuesday's initial statement,, external Morecambe's board said: "Because Bond Group do not have the required funds to meet the club's full payroll commitment, despite being entirely responsible for paying wages until a sale completes and aware of that responsibility and the requirement, this means that wages cannot be paid until the sale completes.
"Panjab Warriors do have the funds available to pay all wages, and are ready to transfer these immediately, but they are not able to do so unless the sale completes and they are the owners.
"As a result, we have had no choice but to issue an ultimatum to Jason Whittingham at 9:52am this morning, Tuesday 1st July 2025, that unless Bond Group's shares are sold to Panjab Warriors by 4pm today, the board of directors will be left with no option but to begin the process of putting the club into administration."
Entering administration typically results in a club incurring a points deduction and other consequences, such as transfer embargoes, although cases can vary.
Whittingham, who oversaw the takeover of the club in 2018, previously told BBC Radio Lancashire that he "could not wait to get out" of the then League Two club in an interview in January.
Since then the club have been relegated from the English Football League (EFL), meaning they will play in the National League next season for the first time since 2007.
The deal to sell the club to Panjab Warriors was approved by the EFL earlier in June.
Panjab Warriors said last week, external they had already paid £3.8m to Bond Group alongside a separate payment of £630,000 to clear outstanding loans against the club.
The group claimed they had also loaned a further £1.7m to the club over the past 14 months to "ensure its ongoing survival".
