"The Joint Administrators are not surprised by the withdrawal of the Pinnacle Group from the acquisition of Southampton Football Club. It has previously been stated that the Administrators were not prepared to extend the period of exclusivity that had been granted to the Pinnacle Group and that had expired on 19 June 2009. Immediately following the expiry of the exclusivity period, the Administrators re-engaged in discussions with other parties that had previously expressed serious interest.

"We remain hopeful that a sale of the Football Club will be completed within a very short period of time. We appreciate that the sale may appear to have been protracted but it is a complex transaction which involves numerous stakeholders and a satisfactory solution for all parties is not simple to achieve. It is positive news that the Football Club should be in a position to pay the wages this week and once again we reiterate our thanks to the staff and players for their continued support.

"As we have made very clear we are working to a very short timeframe, but wish to reassure everybody with an interest in Southampton Football Club that we are working round the clock to try to ensure the survival of The Club.

"We will keep you advised of continuing developments."

Begbies Traynor

Mark Fry / Kirstie Provan
020 7398 3800