SAINSBURY’S helped bail out Southend United when it faced its whopping £2.1million tax bill, an Echo inquiry confirms.

The store giant, which plans to develop Roots Hall when the football club moves to a new stadium, loaned a large sum of money before the Blues announced they had paid off their debt to HM Revenue and Customs.

A copy of an official certificate seen by the Echo shows how much Ron Martin has put up in club shares to Sainsbury’s to secure the loan.

The document does not state how much the loan was for, and neither Sainsbury’s or Southend United chairman Ron Martin would comment. The loan agreement is dated November 7, the day the club won a last-minute reprieve in their legal battle over the debts at the High Court in London.

The Blues announced they were able to pay off the tax bill and avoid going into administration.

The certificate for “registering a mortgage or charge” shows South Eastern Leisure UK, the company which owns the club, put up 1,216,000 Blues shares at 25p each – a total of £304,000 – as the security so the loan from Sainsbury’s could be agreed.

If the club failed to honour the terms of the loan agreement, this amount of shares would be transferred to the supermarket giant.

The document was registered by Companies House on November 12 and signed by accountants CMS Cameron McKenna LLP.

The news confirms speculation among fans about a deal involving Sainsbury’s, which has a deal with the club to build a new store on the Roots Hall site once the club finally move to their new stadium at Fossetts Farm.

Mr Martin did not return any calls by the Echo, but says in a website blog: “The debt was paid by Roots Hall Ltd, which was one of my group companies I set up at the time of acquiring Delancey’s 50 per cent shareholding in March 2006 and is the UK company managing and undertaking the relocation plans.”