Southend United: Consortium led by Justin Rees completes takeover

Rees is expected to be the new chairman, though much of the day-to-day running of the club will continue to be done by chief executive Tom Lawrence.

He has been in post since May 2021 and said at the start of the 2023 that financial problems had left the club with an annual funding gap of about £2m.

The other consortium members are John Watson, Gary Lockett, Tom Arnold, David Kreyling, Paul Redbourn, Ian Redbourn, George Taylor – the son of former Southend East MP Sir Teddy Taylor – Jason Brown and Lawrence.

“The news we’ve all been waiting for. Proud to have played a small part in this,” Southend-On-Sea Council leader Daniel Cowan said on X,, external formerly Twitter.

In a statement, the Shrimpers Trust supporters’ group – who have in the past loaned money to pay staff wages – said: “There are still matters to resolve, but they can now be completed in a place where the existential threat towards Southend United has been removed.”

The statement added: “Southend United Football Club has the chance to thrive and rise again on a sustainable and collaborative foundation, and we look forward to playing our part.”

They also thanked fans of Blackpool, Crewe, Reading, Scarborough Athletic, Scunthorpe and Torquay – who have also experienced major financial problems – for the “amazing support” provided as the Trust “sought to safeguard the future of our club”.

Southend were formed in May 1906 and in their 118-year history have been as high as the second tier of English football in the 1990s and again in 2006-07, a season which also saw them reach the League Cup quarter-finals.

They missed out on a play-off place last season because of a 10-point penalty imposed by the National League because of their financial issues.

COSU have been effectively running the club since the contracts were exchanged and Rees told BBC Essex in May that they had already spent £3.5m.

The following month, however, they were ordered to provide a £1m bond by the league who were concerned about Southend’s “ability to fulfil its financial obligations” for the coming season.

But the latest in a series of winding-up petitions the club has faced was dismissed on 26 June leading to the lifting of a second transfer embargo, external imposed in May, just five months after the previous one ended, having been in place for over a year.

The Fossetts Farm development is now subject to a second due diligence exercise by Southend-On-Sea Council.