Joint administrators Ian Wright and Craig Morrison of Quantuma confirmed the development.

In a statement, Mr Wright said: “On 15 April, Craig Morrison and I, together, the joint administrators of Dumbarton Football, announced that we had agreed Heads of Terms with Gareth Phillips, in a deal which would see the club exit from administration.

“With regret, today I must announce that due to ill health, Mr Phillips has had to withdraw his offer and in doing so has forfeited the non-refundable deposit which was paid.

“We are fortunate to be in a position where we have other credible parties who had expressed an interest in acquiring the club out of administration. We have already engaged with these parties and will provide a further update as soon as we are able to do so.”