Swiss group set to acquire stricken Saints

Administrators in charge of Southampton are confident of concluding the sale of the stricken club imminently. A Swiss consortium is believed to be the front-runner to complete a takeover at St Mary's after the Matt Le Tissier-backed Pinnacle group pulled out this week.

Joint administrator Mark Fry has received offers from other parties, including a reported £12.5m bid from an English-based company named Gillico. But Fry hopes to proceed with one of the earlier bidders as the protracted takeover saga nears a positive conclusion. "We currently are very confident that a sale will be achieved and that this process will be concluded very shortly," said Fry.

"In relation to information regarding new interested parties, we are now in an unusual situation whereby we are receiving offers from a number of other parties very late in the day, but are committed to getting the transaction completed with our current buyer."