AMID a cloud of uncertainty Dover Athletic remain in business while complicated legal and financial issues wait to be resolved.

One immediate problem is the hold up caused by the club's bankers, who last week refused to release the major shareholders, John and Alan Husk, from their obligations as bank guarantors.

Consortium leader Jim Parmenter wants full control of the club before he and his consortium invest money to clear the club's substantial debts. Mr Parmenter has reached an agreement with the Husk brothers, essential for his takeover bid to succeed.

Negotiations with the bank have been held up by the festive period but now everyone is back at work a much clearer picture is expected to emerge soon. Mr Parmenter's lawyers are trying to find a form of words which satisfies the requirements of the new consortium and offers protection to the major shareholders.

A second conundrum facing the club is what action the Crown agencies (Inland Revenue and VAT) will take, now that the original December 31 deadline has come and gone. The club's Fighting Fund has raised around £25,000 so far, although that figure includes monies pledged but not yet banked.

The trustees are holding onto the money for the time being while fundraising continues. One of the trustees, John Parsons, said: "This thing is not yet closed. If the club are able to stretch the time for raising the money, we will be able to still receive donations."

The Supporters' Trust holds around £15,000 in funds, with another £2,000 expected from the sponsored walk to Folkestone. So over £40,000 could be available to help clear the most pressing debts. However, a figure of £75,000 has been quoted as the true amount needed to secure the club's immediate future.

It was expected the club would receive a winding up order if a total of £36,000 to clear immediate CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) and VAT obligations was not forthcoming after December 31. The remaining £12,000 was to cover the deficit for this season caused by low gates and shortfalls in commercial income.

But club secretary Steve Cattermole has written to the relevant authorities to inform them of the promising position with regard to both the fundraising and the proposed takeover.

He said: "I have been acting as a conduit between the old regime and the proposed new group, and I have asked the Crown authorities not to take any precipitous action because negotiations with the consortium were at a mature stage.

"In the meantime the club continues to meet its obligations to the playing staff, both legally and professionally. The players are the first priority.

"The problem with the bank relates to the Insolvency Act. Apparently the bank is concerned that even if the overdraft is repayed to it in full, in the event of the club going bust, other creditors could claim to be priority creditors and demand money from the bank."

Former DoverAthletic directors Jim Gleeson and John Spencer are the other guarantors, who have underwritten sums of £12,000 each.

Mr Parmenter, a former Dover vice-chairman, originally announced last Wednesday that he had reached "verbal agreement" with the club's major shareholders, but later released a fresh statement saying: "Following the verbal compromise agreement made with John and Alan Husk, some complicated legal issues remain.

"We are proceeding on the basis that these issues can be resolved and will have everything in place to mobilise once the shareholders have signed the agreements."