Members will have read about the status of the Geoff Sheard bid through various articles in the local media. At this time, the conditions of our acceptance of this bid remain unsatisfied in all respects and we have no further verification of the source, quantum and nature of funding than we had at the time of the member ballot on 6 August.
 
We remain in dialogue with Mr Sheard and have outlined our increasing concerns to him about the delay. We have also advised him that we have simultaneously begun to actively pursue other potential investor leads. This does not preclude Mr Sheard from completing a deal   - but the most important thing is that the club attracts fresh investment, from one source or another and we have to keep our options completely open. In this connection, we have instigated meetings with 4 interested parties last week although we would stress these are at a very early stage. In each case, should any serious interest be confirmed, we would route them through to Deloittes, who have been appointed by the club to source an investment solution.
 
A question is often posed about why we do not impose a deadline on Mr Sheard. Whilst we fully understand this sentiment, we also believe that such a deadline is futile, because we have always been free to speak with other potential investors or indeed complete a deal with them. We made it clear in our ballot paperwork that any deal with Mr Sheard was non-exclusive. If Mr Sheard comes to the table in the meantime with verified funds then it will be up to the shareholders, no doubt based on the circumstances at the time, to decide whether to sell to him or not. If he fails to come to the table then it is important that all our eggs are not in one basket and we must keep our options open. Mr Sheard will either deliver or not, irrespective of any deadline and unless all the shareholders agree, we are not in a position to cut off anyone who might (however remote it might appear at any given point) have funds to take us forward.
 
On 4 October we were asked to sign a confidentiality document by Mr Sheard in lieu of receiving certain confidential information pertaining to his bid. We entered into this commitment and yesterday we received a document which provided certain information pertaining to his bid. In isolation, this document is inconclusive and raises additional questions. We have outlined these questions to Mr Sheard who is seeking permission from his backers to release further supporting documents to us in the next few days. At the time of writing, we do not know if we will receive any additional information. In any case, we have reason to believe that his bid will be finally determined, one way or the other, during the month of October. The longer it has gone on, the more natural it is for doubts to be expressed that it will be done at all - and our views are no different than most Wednesday fans we speak with in this respect.
 
During a follow up telephone conversation, Mr Sheard re-iterated earlier indications that he is seeking to acquire the holdings of Messrs Hulley, Addy and Allen to make up his desired 29.9% and our shares are a backstop. His priority therefore is to ensure these individuals have all the information they require and it may well be that we have not received everything they have, or are about to receive.
 
In the meantime, our meetings with other interested parties demand a follow up and we will continue to devote time and resource in pursuit of these - as we said, the needs of SWFC are the most important issue here and any reasonable option has to be encouraged.