Torquay United administrators refutes ‘preferred bidder’ claim.

The administrators tasked with finding Torquay United’s best buyer made an announcement last night that they had a preferred bidder, but they did not disclose who that bidder was.

A statement that read, “Following on from the announcement last Friday that Scott Kippax, Neil Vinnicombe, and Simon Haskew of Begbies Traynor have been appointed as joint administrators of the club, extensive work and discussions have been taking place behind the scenes over the past few days,” was posted on the club’s website on Tuesday night, leaving room for social media speculation.

“TUFC has selected a preferred bidder from among the firm bids that it received. The club’s long-term future may now be secured, but the preferred bidder will remain unknown for the time being. This news is the most recent and possibly most important to date in that regard.

The Torquay United Supporters’ Trust, Neil Warnock, a former Premiership manager, and a consortium led by businessman Michael Westcott are among the three parties that may have submitted bids to take the club forward. Fans are eager for more information than that.

It is believed that two additional bids were considered; however, the bidders have not made their identities public. There have been rumours that one of the bids was made by the current director, Mel Hayman, and her father, Ian Hayman.

The issue is that the preferred bidder’s anonymity will create a void on social media as a result of years of little to no information regarding boardroom affairs emerging under former owner Clarke Osborne and his chief executive officer George Edwards. Fans are eager to learn more in the hopes that this will signal the beginning of an open, as opposed to closed, era.

“We would like to place on record our thanks to all bidding parties, the Club’s staff, the National League, Sport England, Lloyds Bank, Club’s creditors and most of all our beloved supporters for their hard work, assistance, generosity and patience during the past two months,” the brief statement continued. “We will continue to provide supporters with further updates as and when possible.”