A CONSORTIUM of businessmen looking to buy Southend United insist they are still on track to complete their purchase of the Shrimpers.

Blues fans had been growing concerned by the lack of updates since Justin Rees and a group of businessmen confirmed heads of terms had been agreed to buy the National League club at the start of October.

But, in a statement sent exclusively to the Echo by Rees on behalf of the consortium, it was confirmed a deal is edging ever closing.

The statement said: “We are pleased to report that our due diligence has completed and that the last of the outstanding matters between Ron Martin and the consortium have now been resolved.

“Although there is still some legal and procedural work to be done, we are hopeful that the deal can be brought to closure shortly.

“We will provide a confirmation of the exact completion date once it is locked in, and in parallel we will work with HMRC and the National League to arrange for the lifting of the transfer embargo on the day the takeover is finalised.”

And the consortium also appreciate why fans had been growing concerned.

The statement added: “We understand the frustrations of everyone associated with Southend United that the takeover has taken longer to complete than we originally estimated, however due diligence had raised some important issues which we required further time to work through.

“We thank you for your patience and look forward to seeing you all at a packed Roots Hall very soon.”

The Shrimpers came close to being wound up at the High Court in August following a winding up petition from HMRC which ultimately led to the club being docked 10 points by the National League.

Despite the issues, Blues boss Kevin Maher and his players have strung together a number of impressive performances and currently sit 15th in the table.

But getting the club in the right hands remains the number one issue for the fans.

And last night’s update was welcomed by keen Blues fan Callum Turner.

He said: “This is exactly the update we have needed.

“It’s been hard waiting for a fair while but I’m glad they have been very thorough throughout it all.”