Consortium 'ready' to buy ailing Morecambe

London-based sports investment company Panjab Warriors has released a statement to say it is "ready, willing and able" to buy Morecambe.

The Shrimps were suspended by the National League until 20 August on Monday over a failure to comply with the league's rules.

Panjab Warriors has been in talks with the club's owner Jason Whittingham for over a year and a deal had looked set to be concluded earlier this summer.

The company has now said in a joint statement with minority shareholders, the Shrimps Trust and Lizzi Collinge MP that the National League is ready to sanction the deal and "immediately lift the suspension and embargo should it be agreed".

As it stands, Morecambe's fixture away to Boston United on 9 August, their first home game against Brackley Town on 16 August, and the trip to Scunthorpe United on 19 August will no longer take place as scheduled.

Whittingham, who has been looking to sell the club since 2022, announced that a new buyer, named as a consortium led by Jonny Cato, had been found earlier in July, but it remains unclear where that bid stands.

Whittingham said on Sunday he had "not heard from" Panjab Warriors in the past week and talks with Cato were ongoing.

The Lancashire side, who were promoted to League One in 2021, were relegated from League Two last season - their second relegation in the past three seasons.