A FRESH petition to “wind up” Southend United is set to be adjourned after outgoing chairman Ron Martin revealed he expects the club to be sold by “mid-May”.
Before Christmas, the Blues owner and a group headed by Australian billionaire Justin Rees exchanged contracts; however, Southend Council’s due diligence and Ron Martin’s “the finance partner”‘s approval have delayed the takeover.
Due to the delay, Stewarts Law—purporting to be the club’s creditor—filed a winding up petition against the organisation, with a court date scheduled for April 17.
Stewarts announced today that the hearing will be postponed until May 15, at which point it anticipates the deal “will have completed”.
“Stewarts began acting for Southend United Football Club in respect of a petition presented by HMRC in September 2022, and a further petition presented by HMRC in March 2023,” a Stewarts spokesman said in a statement.
“We haven’t received payment for the services we did for the club. In February 2024, a petition for such unpaid fines was made.
Two more creditors have formally notified us that they intend to support the petition.
“After conferring with Ron Martin, we have decided to postpone the hearing scheduled for April 17 by four weeks, until May 15, 2024, pending the court’s approval. By that date, we understand the sale will have been finalised.”
Although he thought Stewarts had “jumped the gun,” Ron Martin told BBC Essex last week that he still wanted to reach a settlement with them before to the court date.
