Southend fans are waking up with the club under new ownership
A consortium led by Australian businessman Justin Rees has completed its takeover of Southend United.
Last updated 20th Jul 2024
Southend United fans are glad to hear the news that after months of delays, the club has completed a takeover deal.
It was announced back in October that a takeover deal had been agreed between the Shrimpers and a consortium led by Australian businessman Justin Rees.
It occurred the day before the club were due in High Court to face a winding-up petition.
Yesterdays announcement that Rees's takeover of Southend had finally gone through, means Ron Martin's lengthy stewardship of the club is over, having first taken over the running of the Blues in 1998.
Fans on X are glad to see the change in ownership:
"The consortium is delighted to announce that the purchase of Southend United Football Club has been successfully completed," a statement read.
"All parties would like to take this opportunity to thank the SUFC staff, suppliers, and fans of the club for their unwavering support throughout this period.
The process, which began in July 2023, was complex and as a result has taken longer than any of us anticipated.
Completing a complicated deal such as this requires hard work and compromise on all sides.
With that in mind, we would like to extend our thanks to Ron and Jack Martin, who have acted with integrity and professionalism throughout our dealings, aiming to find solutions as quickly as possible to the many complex and challenging changes that arose along the way.
We also thank the councillors and officers of Southend-on-Sea City Council.
The three parties have been united in finding a resolution."
"We now turn our attention to the start of the new season and hope that the Southend community will unite behind (manager) Kevin Maher and the Blues squad.
There remains much work to be done but with the support of the city, we are confident of a bright future for the Shrimpers."