Southend United have paid the £1.4million debt owed toHMRC in full today. The National League side have been under a transfer embargo since September 2022 and have been unable to add to their playing squad during that time.
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What Southend Said
"Ahead of the HMRC hearing on March 1, the Club can confirm the monies owed to HMRC, under the Petition, have been paid in full.
“Funds as working capital have also been injected to help Southend United over the coming months.
“The Club’s objective is to regain its future as a club within the Football League at the earliest opportunity."
The Shrimpers are due to go to court on Wednesday 1st March, a session marked 'final' by judges after several adjournments after the last few years.
The major debt has been linked to COVID and the reduced income during this time, along with a loan from the Premier League being cut short by the club's Chairman and Owner Ron Martin.
However, some staff have not been paid since November and players and coaching staff are also waiting for their January and February wages still.
The club also mentioned that working capital has been injected to aid the club in the next few months and in turn help them secure their status as a club for the long term.
The South East Side are still in desperate need of assistance, after it was revealed that Martin was injecting £2million a year to keep the club afloat.
Ron Martin is also holding out on building a new stadium at Fossetts Farm as the current stadium 'Roots Hall' was described as 'sucking up money' and 'not fit for purpose' by Ron, although this has been slow in progress.
Southend are also overdue their accounts for 2019, 2020 and 2021 as the national league side grapple with their finances after reporting a loss an operating loss alone of just under £3m whilst in League 1.
Although since then they have suffered successive relegations, dropping down to the National League.
One thing is for certain, Southend United are not yet saved.