Raj Singh provides Hartlepool United sale update

Hartlepool's chairman announced following a 2-0 defeat to Crawley Town in April that he would seek a new owner at the Suit Direct Stadium with supporters having made their feelings known over the current ownership.

Singh provided an update to supporters earlier this summer whereby he stated the club were working through a number of enquiries.

Singh said: “I listened to the group of supporters that requested the club be put up for sale at the end of the season.

"It wasn’t my intention to sell and, as such, we have been working hard to pull the required information together at relatively short notice.

“We’ve had enquiries and we are gradually working through these. There is a formal process and we are collecting expression of interests under non-disclosure agreements and asking for proof of funds.

“I’ve made it clear that a buyer must be somebody who has the right interests and financial backing to securely take the club forward longer term.

"Unfortunately there are some time wasters that we have had to filter.

“As yet we have not reached the stage where certified proof of funds have been provided to a level that the club needs to operate.”

And, ahead of Hartlepool’s opening pre-season fixture with North East neighbours Middlesbrough – a fixture in which John Askey’s side secured an impressive 2-1 victory – Singh revealed he remains in dialogue with one potential buyer for the club, but continues to wait for their proof of funds before any potential sale can progress, having closed the door on another party.

Singh wrote in his pre-season message to supporters: "As I’ve said before, the Crawley game changed a lot of things for me and we started looking for a new owner for the club.

"But at the same time, we had to carry on and prepare for the new season in the best way we could to give us a chance in a very tough National League.

"Admittedly, there were a lot of mistakes made by a lot of people last year and we are desperately determined to put that right.

"On that front, it’s coming up to three months since I made the announcement for people to show interest in taking over the club.

"As expected, we have had a lot of time wasters. For example, someone showed interest eight-to-nine weeks ago and we were told, in no uncertain terms, that they have tens of millions of pounds available in their company and that they would deposit funds with their solicitors within a week-to-10 days to show that they were very serious about buying the club.

"They also claimed they’d invest the money and have the club in League One in three years.

"Four weeks on, we are still waiting for confirmation, so this week we have closed the door on that party now.

"At this point in time, there is only one prospective purchaser that we are in dialogue with. As much as we are hopeful, I’m not holding my breath on that deal either until we see some hard cash being deposited with their own solicitors.”