BBC investigates takeover turmoil behind Morecambe suspension

The National League has announced that Morecambe have been suspended until 20 August due to their perilous financial situation.

The league has "serious concerns" surrounding the Lancashire club's compliance with its rules and last week warned there would be "possible further sanctions" if terms were not met.

Now the Shrimps' first three fixtures - against Boston, Brackley and Scunthorpe - have been postponed. If they are unable to provide proof they will be able to complete the whole season by the time the league's compliance and licensing committee meet again next month, they face expulsion.

"It was decided further sanctions must be imposed, with the club's membership to be suspended with immediate effect," the National League said in a statement on Monday.

"The committee will meet again on Wednesday, 20 August to determine if outstanding items have been satisfied, and to decide the club's ability to retain membership in the competition."

Morecambe have had a chaotic summer since being relegated from League Two, with a deal yet to take place despite two parties having takeover bids accepted, while the board of directors resigned.

The 105-year-old club's current owner Jason Whittingham has missed several self-set deadlines to sell, and has been unable to convince the league's board that the team has the financial means to complete the season, which would be its first outside the Football League since 2007.

Current majority shareholders Bond Group, led by businessman Whittingham, purchased Morecambe in May 2018. By September 2022, Whittingham had put the club up for sale.

The club has since been relegated twice, and no takeover has been completed in that time.

Whittingham has been a director at 25 companies during his career, according to Companies House. Of those 25 companies, 18 have been either dissolved, voluntarily dissolved, put into administration, put into liquidation, or put into receiver action (the precursor stage to liquidation).

Two of Whittingham's companies had been dissolved by compulsory strike-off prior to his takeover of Morecambe - but he still passed the EFL's owners' and directors' test.

At 21 of the companies, Whittingham was joint director with business partner Colin Goldring - a legal worker turned entrepreneur - including at Morecambe until Goldring's resignation in August 2022.

Whittingham and Goldring were disqualified as company directors for 12 months following a court hearing in 2022.

Goldring has also been barred by the Solicitors Regulation Authority from working for any law firm without clearance.

The pair also ran Worcester Warriors rugby club, which went into liquidation in 2022.

Whittingham says he has been trying to sell the club to a consortium led by Jonny Cato, but said over the weekend that Cato has been put off completing a deal "by continual negative press statements impacting on the club".

Since Whittingham named Cato as a bidder 10 days ago, Cato has not been seen or heard publicly. In fact, there is no businessman with the name Jonny Cato listed on Companies House, and the only person on professional networking website LinkedIn with the name Jonny Cato is a Swedish MP.

The BBC contacted a man with a slightly different spelling of the name, the only such person with a credible business background in the UK, and were informed he has nothing to do with a potential bid for the club.

So who is Cato? Why does he have no business footprint in the UK? Does he exist?

Whittingham has not responded to requests for interview from the BBC.

Whittingham also says fellow bidder Panjab Warriors, who announced they had agreed a deal to take over the club earlier this summer, have gone quiet and are refusing contact.

The BBC understands Panjab Warriors were so convinced their takeover deal would imminently be confirmed that they lined up a replacement who had agreed to take over from current manager Derek Adams.

Panjab Warriors threatened legal action over their takeover not being completed and said they have already invested millions of pounds into the club to keep it afloat.

On Monday, lawyers representing Morecambe's minority shareholders announced they had not been able to contact any representative from Panjab Warriors for a week, rendering their attempt to force a sale through impossible.

On their website Panjab Warriors state they "invest in sporting excellence" and "execute deals that drive value". But the group does not list any specific investments, and no information about other investments is listed publicly.

The origin of the group's money is also unclear. At least 75% of Panjab Warriors' shares are owned by a company called JKM Capital, which is majority-owned by businessman Kuljeet Singh Momi.

Records show he has been involved in 15 companies during his career, the vast majority of which have been established since 2023, but none appear to have made notable profit.

JKM's latest accounts describe it as a "dormant" company and list its current cash in hand as £100.

Several of Singh Momi's businesses note the involvement of Sarbjot Johal, a young entrepreneur who was heavily linked with a takeover of the club in 2023.

Johal's bid - and youth - earned him plenty of press coverage, but no takeover was ever completed after the extent of his wealth was thrown into doubt.

The exact nature of Singh Momi and Johal's business relationship is not clear, but Singh Momi released a statement last year saying he has cut ties with Johal.

Panjab Warriors have not responded to repeated attempts at contact by the BBC.

Morecambe's staff and players were paid only a third of their wages in June. Any payments for July have not yet been publicly disclosed.

The club has a squad of just 10 senior players and has cancelled pre-season friendlies.

If and when a sale will be completed - and whether whoever the eventual buyers are represent the financial salvation the club desperately needs - remains to be seen.

But unless a sale is somehow pushed through before the 20 August deadline, the potential of expulsion - or the club ultimately folding - cannot be ruled out.