What happened to Southend United and who are their new owners? Australian IT millionaire saves 117-year-old club while in Europe on gap year

Southend United’s future as a professional football club looked bleak heading into this week.

However, the 117-year-old side have been saved after a consortium led by businessman Justin Rees agreed a deal to complete a takeover. 

The takeover is expected to be wrapped up in November with the Shrimpers now able to look towards a brighter future at Roots Hall. 

Ahead of the new ownership completing the move, talkSPORT.com takes a look at what exactly happened to Southend and who the consortium are…

As recently as 2007, Southend were playing their football in the second tier. 

However, they have since suffered from major financial problems and dropped out of the Football League in 2021.

Property developer Ron Martin had been the club’s owner for the last 25 years but he has led the Shrimpers into millions worth of debt. 

Martin owed large sums of money to HMRC, the club’s energy provider and football creditors. 

This terrible financial situation led Southend into a diabolical position, with some members of staff said to have waited four months before being paid their wages. 

Due to this, fans have been constantly protesting to get their owner out over the last few years.

Martin put the club up for sale in March before asking for only £1 for 70.6 per cent of the club in July, with the catch being he wanted £4.5million for their stadium, Roots Hall. 

He remained in charge despite the protests and even rejected takeover bids while the club’s debt led to them being docked 10 points. 

This deduction means the Shrimpers are now sat towards the bottom of the National League despite winning games against all the odds. 

A standout result came in September as they beat Maidenhead United with only 13 players in the squad and a 37-year-old