CLEM Morfuni says he has made a bid to take full ownership of Swindon Town.

The minority stakeholder made the claims in response to Trust STFC’s open letter to all respective and future owners of Swindon Town. He said he has made a bid to take full control of the football club from majority shareholder Lee Power.

Mr Morfuni says he made a formal offer to buy the remaining 85 per cent of the club at the beginning of February, but is yet to hear back from Mr Power on the matter.

In an open letter to fans, the Australian businessman – who is a former back-of-shirt sponsor for Town – went on to say that his offer was “substantially in excess of the alleged Able offer and was more attractive in other ways too.”

READ: Click on this link to see the full open-letter response from Mr Morfuni.

Mr Morfuni also discussed the financial state he believes the club to be in. The 51-year-old said he was “really concerned and shocked” when he heard Mr Power say Swindon Town was in serious threat of going into administration.

Mr Morfuni said that while he does not currently have access to all the existing financial information of the club, from the information he was able to obtain, “it seems alarming that we are in such a precarious position.”

The Axis Football Investments Limited owner says he believes “significant” money has been received by the club over the past 12 months – including the sale of two academy players to Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion, respectively – and “with the playing budget that I believe exists, it is almost inconceivable to me that the club has not made a significant profit over this period.”

But Mr Morfuni warned that he could not be totally sure of the above claim without having full access to the club’s bank accounts and management information.

He went on to say that he “fully respects and understands the responsibility” which will be placed on him if he were to take control of the club before setting out his plans and commitments should his bid be accepted. These can be read by turning to page 30.

The Adver approached Mr Power for comment but he has yet to respond.

Reacting to the reply to their open letter, Trust STFC released a short statement which read: “TrustSTFC wholeheartedly welcome the openness shown by Mr Morfuni in his response to our open letter.

“While it's prudent to remain balanced, the combination of his transparency, his commitments and his plans are a great example of how a potential owner of Swindon Town can and should engage with the community while securing the long-term future of the club.

“We are heartened by the fact there are parties involved with the ownership of the club that are willing to increase their stake and we remain committed to working closely with any combination of parties willing to run Swindon Town for the benefit of the fans and the wider community.

“At this stage, we would call on all parties involved with the ownership of the club to follow Mr Morfuni's lead. Respond to the open letter with vision and transparency, and work together to focus on the health and prosperity of Swindon Town.”