SWINDON Town’s supporters have been promised ‘the right deal with the right people’ will be at the forefront of Swindon Borough Council’s considerations as the authority assesses rival bids from Swindon Town and Trust STFC to buy the freehold for the County Ground.

Town chairman Lee Power revealed on Wednesday that Town had made a ‘formal offer’ to acquire the freehold on the club’s home of 122 years, months after the Trust’s own bid had been made last year.

The Trust had an initial £1.1 million bid rejected by the council last year, re-submitting an offer after a council re-valuation of the site, but with Town now having also thrown a hat into the ring, the borough council will conduct a period of due diligence on both offers.

The authority’s cabinet member for regeneration, Coun Garry Perkins, told the Swindon Advertiser that the two offers were similar but that no ‘period of exclusivity’ - an arrangement laying out a timeframe in which to put together the necessary funding - had been entered into with either the club or the Trust.

“At the moment, the football club have made an offer, the Trust have made an offer and obviously we need to sit down and start doing due diligence on the offers, what the council will gain, not just financially but also what the fans will gain as far as better facilities and also ensuring that the future of Swindon Town Football Club is the best it possibly can be,” said Perkins.

“As far as the members (of the council) are concerned, we’ll wait for the officers to come back. They obviously have a certain number of technical questions they need to work through with the bidders and who knows, there might be another bidder.

“We certainly haven’t gone out looking for bidders. It was never the council’s intention to sell at this time but it was instigated when the Trust came to us and we were considering moving forward with them.”

He revealed SBC were proceeding with casting an eye over the Trust’s proposals for the deal when Power, during one of the regular landlord-tenant meetings between the club and local authority, indicated his desire to put forward his own offer for the freehold.

“We couldn’t say no because, after all, the County Ground is a very important asset for the council and the people of Swindon,” he added, of the offers.

“We’ve got to look carefully and consider the merits of any bid and make sure that, if there is any sale of the freehold, that it’s the right deal for the council, the town and the fans.

“The fans, as a group, will be here long after the existing owners, the existing Trust and myself will be long gone. They are the most important people, (and the council must make sure) that the deal is the right deal with the right people.’’ Perkins added: “He (Power) was asked to put it (the club offer) in writing and it’s now subject, as is the Trust’s, to due diligence and questions because it’s all very well putting a sum on the table but you have to know, most importantly, what does it gain?

“The council could just gain a lump sum but, after all, it has a steady income and has done for an awful long time as far as rent in concerned.

“So in one respect, the council being the landlord is very much a strong anchor for the club. We’re going to go very carefully as we go forward to ensure it’s the best thing for the future of the club and the town.”

Trust STFC revealed yesterday that there was “substantial financial backing” in place to support their bid. Power has yet to expand publicly on the details behind the club’s offer but Perkins said no timeframe was being adhered to when it came to the council making a decision.

“It needs to be as soon as possible, but as long as it takes,” he added.

“It’s no good being rushed into it or, God help us, making the wrong decision. We have to make sure that it is the right decision for everybody.

“It’s no good saying we go for the top bidder, we’re not looking at that. We’re very much looking at the long-term future of the club and the ground.

“The ground does need improving and has needed improving for a long, long time. You look at grounds around the country and the fans accept it is as it is, but I’m sure they would prefer some additional investment into the ground to make it that much better for themselves and all fans.

“If you attract and get more fans, you make the club more viable.

“It’s making sure the investment isn’t just a one-off capital gain for the council, but a long-term investment in the club.

“It’s very difficult because you look at both sides, the club and the fans, and it’s not an easy position to be in, of creating a competition.

“One would always hope they would work together rather than in opposite corners, as it were.

“But we are where we are and we have to make sure the right decision is made.”