GENEROUS Dean Court owners Structadene have allowed Cherries to temporarily defer part of their stadium rent – giving the League Two club breathing space as they search for new investors.

Howard Harris, of Structadene, told the Echo last night that his company had agreed to a number of measures in order to help the Dorset outfit.

After discussions with Cherries co-owner and chief executive Alastair Saverimutto, Harris revealed that the club would also now pay monthly instead of quarterly and have interest on late payments waived.

Harris this afternoon confirmed that no time limits have been placed on the "open-ended" new measures, but he did make it clear that the club would have to pay the shortfall in rent at some point in the future.

Harris was also keen to stress that the original lease agreement, which sees the club pay about £325,000 per year, remains unchanged.

But he insists the London-based property company will do all they can to help Cherries.

“We’re not going to put pressure on them – we’re trying to do the decent thing,” Harris told the Echo.

“But we have not varied the lease – the lease remains as it was.

“They will pay that (£15,000 per month) but they have to make it up at some point. I’m relatively happy with that because I think they will make that up.

“I must say that Alastair Saverimutto has been very, very helpful and if we can help in any way, we will do so.”

He added: “We’ve not agreed to reduce the rent to £15,000, but we have allowed them to make those payments on account of those monies due.

“They will pay that and make up the shortfall. Their intention is to pay extra (on top of the £15,000) if they can.”

Saverimutto was delighted to have struck the deal with Structadene.

He said: “I’m very grateful for their help and their help is exceptional to our cause, given that we’re trying to identify new investment.

“This gives me the opportunity to drive the costs down until the period of time when new investment can come in.

“I’ve been open and frank in all my negotiations and, as a result, both parties feel this is the right thing to do.”

Cherries were forced to sell Dean Court for £3.5m in December 2005 as the then board attempted to overcome the club’s debt.

However, the deal, which saw the stadium sold to Structadene, also included a buy-back option set at £4.25m – which increases by £60,000 every 12 months.