Former Queens Park Rangers director Andrew Ellis has withdrawn his bid for control of the west London club.

The move paves the way for a fans' consortium to ease the troubled club out of administration.

Estate agent Ellis had been granted a three-week lock-out period to prove he had the cash to back up his proposal.

The only other bid tabled so far comes from the fans' consortium headed by Maurice Fitzgerald, who have pledged to keep the club at Loftus Road.

A club statement read: "Andrew Ellis has withdrawn his bid to buy QPR and the period of exclusivity granted to him no longer exists.

"With regards to other bids, the club has received the outline of a possible deal from the consortium led by Maurice Fitzgerald, which the club are also looking at."

Deeply unpopular

The Ellis bid had been deeply unpopular with fans because it proposed moving the club from Loftus Road to a new site near Heathrow, 16 miles away.

Fitzgerald's bid is apparently backed by a major investment company and private investors.

The bid is centred on around keeping the club at Loftus Road, with current manager Ian Holloway remaining in charge.