• Chairman Ron Martin agrees deal with former sponsor
• Cosu consortium set to take over National League club

Southend’s winding‑up petition was dismissed at the high court on Wednesday after a late deal was struck “beyond the 11th hour” with the club’s last remaining creditor.

After a dramatic week when the National League told Southend to provide a £1m bond in order to compete in the coming season because of uncertainty over their financial situation, the club chairman, Ron Martin, was in London for the rescheduled hearing having been given an extra month to settle debts with the legal firm ­Stewarts and a former club sponsor.