Torquay United pushing for promotion despite financial pressures

Torquay United co-chairman Michael Westcott says the club is determined to keep pushing for promotion this season, but the Bryn Consortium will always be ready to take ‘tough decisions’ to make sure that the Gulls don’t slip back into the trouble they inherited 20 months ago.

Westcott stressed: “We want to keep the promotion push going, and we’re doing everything we can to support that.”

Faced with the double-suspension of leading scorers Louis Dennis and Jordan Young, United allowed manager Paul Wotton to sign Plymouth Argyle striker Joe Hatch on loan before last Saturday’s 2-1 win at Enfield Town.

That deal was aided by sponsorship from the Torquay United Supporters Trust (TUST), who hold a 25% shareholding in the club.

But Westcott also revealed that at a recent meeting of board and TUST: “We gave them a very unvarnished picture of the financial landscape.”

The recent staff ‘restructure’, which included a round of redundancies, was designed to stop the club slipping back into financial trouble.

“The belt tightening we are doing now is to keep the ship away from the rocks,” Westcott said.

“It’s our job to take tough decisions, to make sure that the club doesn’t end up where it was when we took over, and we will always be prepared to do that.”

The Bryn group has had to pump in a huge amount of money, well into seven figures, to haul United out of administration and lift it to its current position.

That’s before help from (TUST), which supplied another £200,000 on the back of a successful share issue.

Frustratingly for all involved, much of it has been ‘dead’ money, like clearing creditors in the wake of the administration imposed by former owner Clarke Osborne.

There is also a £500,000 Sport England loan, taken out like many other clubs during the Covid crisis, to be repaid, although that is over the course of 20 years.

Fuller details of United’s situation are expected to be revealed at a Fans’ Forum before the end of this season.

But United are still heading for a loss well in excess of £500,000 in 2025-2026.

The ‘restructure’, which included seven redundancies and the creation of three new posts, was taken to make United ‘leaner’, but also better equipped to chase the off-pitch earnings which are seen as crucial to make the club more sustainable in future.

Among the new roles is a Partnerships Manager, and United are expected to announce who is taking that key job soon.

The Gulls already planning for next season, on and off the pitch.

“There are expectations on Torquay United which a lot of other clubs at this level don’t have, but we embrace that,” said Westcott.

“Promotion this season is very much the aim, and we are doing all in our power to achieve it.”