Southend United's petition debt to HMRC has been paid in full as an agreement for the sale of the club has been reached today, it has been revealed.

After weeks of uncertainty, the sale of Southend United has been confirmed and should be completed on November 1 as an agreement is in place with a consortium led by Australian businessman Justin Rees.

The Blues faced a winding up order over a £275,000 HMRC debt and are due back in the High Court tomorrow, but a statement has now confirmed this has “been paid in full”.

Southend United and chairman Ron Martin had been told that the debt must be cleared before the hearing or the much-loved club would be wound up by the court.

A joint statement released by the club, Justin Rees’ consortium, and Southend Council today said: "We can confirm that an agreement for the sale of the Club has been reached with a consortium led by Justin Rees. Everyone is working towards a completion date of November 1, that is when the consortium will formally take control of the club.

"In the interim, the petition debt to HMRC has been paid in full.

"The collaborative approach to agreeing this deal would not have been possible without the support of creditors and the assistance of the Leader of Southend City Council.

"We recognise that this has been a stressful time for all associated with the club. We would like to thank our staff for their incredible loyalty and also thank all our stakeholders for their patience."