The controversy over the mystery buyers of cash-strapped Oxford United took a new twist today when it was revealed the company was registered in the Bahamas.

And a city councillor immediately called on the consortium to reveal its identity which, unlike companies registered in England and Wales, it is not presently required to do.

Val Smith, Oxford city councillor for Blackbird Leys, the ward adjoining the new stadium, said: "As a representative of people in Oxford, I need to know who we are dealing with here. This off-shore company business makes it impossible for us to find out basic information. At one recent meeting with United we were introduced to one man as David X."

A spokesman for the Companies Registrar in Nassau, Bahamas, confirmed to the Oxford Mail that Grenoble Investments Ltd was registered there on January 2 this year by an entity called Fonsecca.

But the Oxford Mail can reveal today that one man who put United in touch with people he thought could help was Martyn Deaner.

He is a former oil man who was declared bankrupt in 1994 after financing Newbury Town Football Club, a misfortune that caused that club's closure. He told the Oxford Mail: "I am not involved with Grenoble Investments. I simply put United in touch with people I thought could help."

Construction company Taylor Woodrow walked off the Minchery Farm stadium site 20 months ago over a "payment issue". Work there has been at a standstill ever since.

United has consistently said that one vital source of capital for work at Minchery Farm is money from the sale of its Manor ground.

Construction company Alfred McAlpine and United's former owner Alan Corbett are keen to develop the Manor.

They are also keen to co-operate in developing land adjoining the new stadium.

Stuart Petch, a spokesman in Jersey for Alan Corbett's company Energy Holdings, told the Oxford Mail: "We know very little about this weird and wonderful off-shore company Grenoble Investments. We are playing a waiting game. Our first concern is to develop the Manor ground.

"Energy Holdings has a charge (mortgage) on the Manor. But we would not want to move in there until the club had somewhere to go."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.