Pinnacle group end interest in buying Southampton FC

Dell legend Matthew Le Tissier has been a visible front man for the Pinnacle bid and would have been installed as chairman had they managed to strike a deal for the club.

Pinnacle, the long term frontrunners to take control at St Mary’s, withdrew after several fruitless weeks of trying to complete their takeover.

Pinnacle's decision leaves the way open for the mystery overseas consortium to push ahead with a deal, as revealed exclusively in the Daily Echo yesterday.

The only competition they will have is from the Swiss backers as the Daily Echo earlier revealed that the group fronted by businessman Marc Jackson has also pulled out.

The withdrawal comes on the back of a failed 21 day exclusivity period in which Pinnacle couldn’t complete a deal to buy the club, a wrangle with the Football League and a Daily Echo investigation last week that probed the background of ‘prospective new owner’ Michael Fialka.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Echo this morning, administrator Mark Fry said for the first time he was "not confident" in Pinnacle completing their deal.

Explaining the decision, Matthew Le Tissier said in a statement: "It is with great regret and frustration due to ongoing issues with the Football League that I and in turn those behind the Pinnacle consortium decided to withdraw our interest in purchasing Southampton Football Club.

"With the ongoing issues with the Football League persisting, our backers have simply refused to provide the requisite funds to complete the take-over.

"I would like to thank Tony Lynam for all his hard work and the others who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for Southampton Football Club.

"I hope beyond hope that Mark Fry can find a buyer for the club. We were unaware of the issues with the Football League when we entered into our agreement to purchase the club and then coming to light so late in the day has resulted in our backer's decision not to proceed under the terms on offer."