ALAN Pither has defended his decision to table a £1 offer for AFC Bournemouth.

Pither’s Bournemouth Holdings Limited, set up last year with the aim of purchasing Cherries, submitted the bid last week.

The offer, which includes “the servicing of all outstanding debts”, is still on the table and Pither is adamant that it is a serious one.

Pither, the boss of Christchurch-based Priory Homes, was reluctant to go public with his thoughts prior to Monday’s revelations due to a confidentiality agreement.

But speaking to the Echo yesterday, he insisted that his group was looking to get involved in the Dean Court club for the right reasons.

“We’ve got the best interests of the club at heart,” said Pither.

“We’ve looked at it for so long now that everyone is saying I must be mad.

“If they (Cherries’ owners) come back to us seriously – and no one is talking to anybody else – we’d look at it in more depth.”

Cherries co-owner Paul Baker told the Echo on Monday that Pither’s group had yet to show proof of funding to support their plans for the struggling League Two club.

But in a statement issued yesterday, Bournemouth Holdings claimed: “After careful consideration by the consortium, it was decided that if we were going to go ahead with the purchase, we would have to be in control of the debts run up by Sport-6.

“That is the reason we offered £1 for the club and to service all the outstanding debts.

“We are not even sure if we are prepared to fund the club to this extent without other parties getting involved to ensure the club is successful in the future.”

Pither, who confirmed that Bournemouth Holdings would seek to get another investor on board if they took control of the club, also denied allegations that his group were primarily interested in the land in and around Dean Court, rather than the football club itself.