Matt Le Tissier and his Pinnacle Group have lost £500,000 after finally ditching their bid to buy Southampton.

A Swiss group is now set to seal a takeover by the end of the week after arriving yesterday for talks with administrator Mark Fry.

Saints legend Le Tiss, who was fronting the Pinnacle Group, paid a non-returnable £500,000 for an 'exclusive' period in which to negotiate terms.

He admitted: "The League's 10-point deduction was not the sticking point.

"We had talked the backers into accepting it.

"But there were other issues and now other groups will have to deal with the League."