Richard Lamb last night all but accepted defeat in his bid to buy the Bulls from administrator David Wilson.

The London-based businessman has fronted a consortium including former Bulls chief executive Abi Ekoku and wealthy property developers from the capital.

Their offer for the club was accepted in principle by Wilson last Thursday before the RFL requested proof of funds of £1million by the following day in order to seal the deal.

Lamb was unable to meet that deadline due to the money being held in an overseas bank account but says his consortium had “significant funds” at their disposal.

However, Lamb was yesterday told by the RFL that his group were no longer considered the preferred bidder and that the club was effectively back up for grabs.

Although Mandy Koukash and Bradford City joint-chairmen Julian Rhodes and Mark Lawn also made offers to the administrator, neither party have heard from Wilson since they made their initial offers.

It would appear that debenture holder Marc Green and a consortium led by representatives from Bradford Park Avenue are now vying for control, with a decision expected imminently.

Lamb said: “I have tried to be open and clear about what we have been trying to achieve with the club, which has been hard at times.

“If we are not the successful bid, then I hope the Bulls find an owner who will invest in the club this season and in future seasons.

“Two weeks ago, we put in a bid for OK Bulls and were asked last week for proof of funding.

“This we provided to both the RFL and the administrator, which showed a considerable amount of monies available.

“On Thursday we again had to show funds by lunchtime Friday. With the investor not in the country we were unable to do that within the timescale, which now appears to have derailed our bid.”

Lamb revealed that former directors Andrew Calvert and Ian Watt last week contacted him to express an interest in being involved with the club should his bid be successful.

Leeds-based administrator Wilson has refused to make any comment so far, attracting criticism from Mandy Koukash, who said on Twitter: “Not very professional by the RFL/Administrator not to have contacted me ten days after submitting my bid.”