Torquay United: The National League South club will go into administration

Torquay United will go into administration after owner Clark Osborne said he could no longer finance the National League South club.

Osborne has owned the Seagulls, who are 11th in the National League South, since 2016 after buying the club from a fan-led consortium.

In his time Torquay were twice relegated to the sixth tier.

Osborne has also resigned as club chairman and the club is set to take a 10-point deduction, dropping them from 11th to 18th in the National League South table, four points short of relegation to the Southern League.

“It is with regret that I learn that circumstances beyond my control over the past five weeks have brought me to the position that I am unable to continue to financially support the club and I have today applied on behalf of the members of the board with the intention of appointing an administrator for the club and the company,” Osborne said. He said in a statement on the club's website.

Osborne have kept Torquay afloat – with the latest set of accounts showing almost £4.3m in loans to the club.

This figure is expected to exceed £5 million with new accounts for the year ending June 2023 coming soon.

Osborne added: “Football financing in this country is risky and can only flourish in the lower divisions where there is either a close collaborative relationship with the local authority, cup assets or backed by large local individuals and businesses.”

“I think it needs a radical overhaul of its funding structure, distributing rights into the lower leagues and recognizing that many clubs are an essential part of the local community and visitor attractions.

“In my view, ambitious clubs should enjoy a special status as they seek to bring investment, develop facilities and bring spending and employment into the local economy.”

The decision leaves Torquay searching for a fourth owner in less than a decade.

The Seagulls reached the League Two play-off final in 2011 under a union backed by the money of late lottery-winning supporter Paul Bristow, whose widow Thea eventually took full control.

He made plans for a new stadium but they never got further than meetings and artists' impressions.

Gaming International also owned a speedway team in Swindon, and his plans for a new stadium for the club never came to fruition, while he was also part of a group unsuccessfully trying to build a ground for Bristol Rovers when the club sold Eastvale to furniture company IKEA. .

“He's an absentee owner, he doesn't come and watch the games,” Nick Broderick, chairman of Torquay United Supporters Trust, told BBC Sport, ahead of the scheduled protest against Osbourne's ownership scheduled for Saturday's home game with Aveley.

“We are very vigilant as a trust. We have a strategy group that has been meeting regularly over the last two or three years and we have plans for any particular scenarios that might develop, such as administration or liquidation, or whether that might lead to a Phoenix club being in existence.

“We have plans for all eventualities depending on what happens with Mr Osborne's decisions regarding the football club.”

But in announcing his departure, Osborne remained adamant that the new stadium was key to the club's future.

“The prospect of a new stadium and commercial facility was the impetus for the investment, and the excitement to deliver something truly transformative for the club and Torbay,” he said.

“I would like to reiterate what I have said many times, which is that Torquay United has fantastic and passionate support, and I am sorry that we were unable to reach our goal for the club and the fans, despite great efforts and investment.”

He added: “It is time for the club, fans, the Torbay community and the local authority to work together and continue on the path to the future.

“I will assist with the change of ownership wherever and whenever I am invited. Detailed plans, proposals and relevant data for the proposed developments will be submitted to the club and will also be provided at any time required to assist with future planning and development.”

The club says that all the money it earns from now on will be used solely to run the football club, adding that “legal and administrative fees will not be paid from operating cash flow.”