A consortium of Inverclyde businessmen have submitted a written offer to save Morton.
Facing a financial short-fall of £335,000 after main sponsors Dalrada failed to make promised payments, projections suggest that the cash-strapped Championship side could run out of cash before the end of the year.
While a fans’ fighting fund has raised around £50,000, Dutch multi-club ownership group Estrella released a statement on Friday morning contradicting claims from Morton Club Together, the Cappielow outfit’s current owners, that they were back in discussions over a £650,000 investment.
Faced with growing opposition from a sceptical fanbase Estrella confirmed that they have now withdrawn from the process.
And that leaves the group of ten businessmen as the frontrunners to provide a financial safety net for the struggling club.
Eight of the group are understood to be based locally in Inverclyde and they include individuals with a background in professional football.
A formal written offer was made to Morton Club Together with a proposal for stable, long-term funding this week. In return for their support the group would expect two seats on the club board.
A source close to the group said: “These are high profile businessmen with a passion for football.
“This is not a case of wealthy men who want to buy a football club. They are saying to Morton, ‘if you need help, if you are stuck, then we are willing to lend a hand.”
The recent AGM of majority shareholders Morton Club Together ended with multi-club ownership group Estrella reconsidering their proposed investment after members were informed of talks with the consortium. A vote to approve the Dutch firm’s offer was postponed until more details were made available.
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MCT have yet to provide an update on the Inverclyde consortium’s offer to their 1150 members amidst claim and counter claim and no real evidence of a unified approach to the club’s precarious plight.
An MCT statement this week claimed that both sides “were keen to get the Estrella proposition back on track and have been discussing this in the days since the AGM to see whether the investment is still viable.
“Together with Estrella we are currently exploring under which terms and conditions a potential investment can be structured.”
This morning’s statement from Estrella appeared to bring the matter to a final close, stating that the firm “is not in negotiations with the MCT board or Greenock Morton FC. Following the AGM our focus has been on bringing the previous process to an appropriate conclusion and addressing the outstanding matters arising from that process.
“Estrella is receiving questions based on inaccurate information and, more importantly, we are increasingly concerned that MCT members who have acted in good faith and with the best interests of Morton at heart are themselves being subjected to unwarranted criticism and accusations.
“For the avoidance of doubt Estrella has withdrawn from the proposed investment.
“There are currently no negotiations taking place with the MCT board or Greenock Morton FC and Estrella has not reconsidered its decision.
“We deliberately choose to work with clubs that believe in our mission and vision and genuinely want to work with us to build a stronger and more sustainable future.
“However our involvement must be genuinely wanted and there must be a shared belief in the partnership and in the way forward.
“Without that mutual commitment and trust we do not believe it is right for Estrella to become a partner of a football club.”
Winless from their opening nine games of the season Morton face Livingston at Cappielow tonight chasing a victory to kick start their stuttering season.
