Fleetwood Town owner Andy Pilley denies making bid for Blackpool FC

Fleetwood Town owner Andy Pilley has denied making a bid for Fylde Coast neighbours Blackpool.
Andy Pilley has denied making a bid for Blackpool FCAndy Pilley has denied making a bid for Blackpool FC
Andy Pilley has denied making a bid for Blackpool FC
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It comes after details of a private court hearing, held days before the club was eventually sold to lifelong fan Simon Sadler, became public.While Pilley was not named during the hearing, judge Justice Marcus Smith was informed of a bid for the club, for slightly less than Sadler’s, which was received before the deadline.

Receiver Paul Cooper told the High Court the bid was complicated by the bidder's "interests in another football club" which could have led to problems with them being approved by the EFL as a “proper person to own a second club”.

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Pilley, a Blackpool fan himself, is understood to have registered an interest in buying Blackpool, enabling him to view the ‘data room’ which included the club’s financial information.

However, it was never confirmed whether he made a formal offer.

Responding on Twitter this evening, Pilley wrote: “For clarity I have never made a bid to buy Blackpool FC .

“Good luck to the new owner. I’m committed to FTFC.”

It has long been rumoured that Pilley, a Blackpool fan, was the local partner that Valeri Belokon wanted to work with at Blackpool - although Pilley has never officially commented on the speculation.

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Although none of the bidders were named in the court documents, they reveal Sadler's was the most thorough bid. He and his team spent more than 100 hours poring over club documents, including financial details.

The judge agreed the receivers "entirely correctly" identified him as the preferred bidder.

Sadler is due to attend a fans' forum with 80 supporters at Rowley's bar and restaurant at 7pm on Monday.