Torquay United

The Mike Bateson era is finally over at Torquay United, after he sold his family's majority shareholding to a local consortium.

The eight-strong consortium, made up of established United supporters, has bought the 51% shares owned by Mike Bateson and his wife Sue.

The Batesons have been the club's owners since 1990, but have been trying to sell up for a number of years.

The new owners include Torquay solicitor Cris Boyce, who is the son of former United chairman Tony Boyce.

The buy-out was completed on 24 May 2007, and the consortium's first announcement was to bring in Colin Lee as the club's chief executive.

Torquay will start next season in the Blue Circle Premier (the new name for the Conference), after being relegated from the Football League. A disastrous season saw them finish hopelessly adrift at the bottom of the league.

Chairman Alex Rowe

The takeover also brings with it yet another new chairman, businessman Alex Rowe.

He quickly moved to reassure fans by describing the consortium members as custodians of the club, rather than owners in the traditional sense.

"I ask the fans to trust us," said Mr Rowe.

"The people who now own the club are die hard Torquay supporters with Torquay United running through their veins.

"We have nowhere to run to, this is something we feel passionate about. We feel passionate about Torquay United and its place in the community and we want to put something back.

"Part of the process is to appoint Colin Lee as chief executive. He will have ultimate responsibility for football and non-football. In terms of the public, Colin will be our ambassador.

New chief executive Colin Lee

"Colin originally came down here in a director of football role, we have embraced that idea and expanded upon it.

"We are confident we have sufficient resources to go forward. The first priority is to give Colin a clean slate so he can build a team on and off the pitch.

"The new owners are well resourced and we have asked Colin to present us with a budget to make us competitive in our division next season. We consider that to be appropriate and we are working to that end.

"I can assure the fans that football will be at the heart of what we do. Redevelopment for non-football purposes is not on the cards."

Colin Lee wasted no time in bringing in a new manager to lead the side's bid to escape the Conference.

Former Exeter City assistant manager Paul Buckle will take charge of team affairs.

The 36-year-old, who played for the Gulls between 1994 and 1995, believes he can lead the team to happier times. "I am delighted and very proud to be given the opportunity to manage Torquay," he said.

Paul Buckle shows his Torquay colours

"I am looking forward to working with everybody at the club as we begin a new era."

You can listen to BBC Radio Devon's Alan Richardson interview Paul Buckle by using the audio link on the top right of this page.

Buckle's appointment is the latest development in a season which has seen a succession of changes to chairman and manager.

Mervyn Benney began his second stint this year as chairman on 14 May. He immediately released director of football Colin Lee, and coach Keith Curle did not have his contract renewed.

On 17 May, former coach Leroy Rosenior was unveiled as new coach at Plainmoor, with his contract due to start on 1 June.

But the tenure of both men was short lived. Mr Benney has again stepped down as chairman and Rosenior has left the club amicably.

"I think people must appreciate we were in a situation where the business was being taken over," added Mr Rowe.

"In quite a lot of business takeovers this kind of thing happens. That has now been resolved and Leroy has left us amicably and with our best wishes.

"We have a blank canvas and can start virtually from scratch to put a team together. No-one under estimates the size of the task ahead of us., but fans will see we are faces that have been at Plainmoor for years.

Mike Bateson has sold up

All this follows previous boardroom changes, which saw Mr Bateson sell 34% of his shares to a consortium led by Chris Roberts in October 2006. Roberts immediately became chairman, but his reign lasted until only February 2007 after the club hit financial problems.

Mr Roberts and his consortium are no longer on the scene. Their shares are now owned by their financier.

Mervyn Benney stepped up as chairman - but only for a couple of days. The owner of Torquay's Grand Hotel was then appointed, before Mike Bateson regained the position in March. He handed the reigns back to Mr Benney in May.

Having sold the remainder of his shares, Mr Bateson is looking forward to a quieter life.

He told BBC Devon: "I am completely, utterly and 101% out of it. I'm pleased I've finally absolved myself of the responsibility.

"This is the first time in 36 years that I can take time off with no - and I repeat no - business responsibilities.

"The past 16 years have been 16 long years. There have been some great moments, and some awful ones.

"My biggest regret was the Roberts deal. I would never have foreseen how things turned out this past season. If I had, I wouldn't have proceeded with the deal. We were 10th in the league at the time.

"The advantage with this new consortium is that they're all Torquay United supporters and they are business people - they do know what to expect. The club is in good hands."

Mr Bateson believes the club can get back into the Football League: "There is no reason why they can't do it," he said. "It won't be easy - Exeter are proof of that. But they're still a professional club and they've got a very good chance."