THE Bulls are hoping to be in position to announce their change of ownership by the end of the week.

Chris Brereton and his consortium are waiting in the wings to take charge after conditionally agreeing a deal to take over from Andrew Chalmers.

The club are keen for it to be pushed through as quickly as possible to allow them to come out of special measures.

The RFL could ratify the transfer of shares from Chalmers to the former Wakefield director as early as Friday.

The takeover is still conditional on the Bulls revealing the full list of their current creditors owed money as well as resolving the situation with the pension deficit that has affected some players and staff.

Chalmers issued an unreserved apology at the weekend after reports emerged that pension payments had not been going in.

But if all goes to plan, the new board could be in place early next week paving the way for the RFL to lift their current embargo on the club’s finances within days.

Pre-season training starts on November 4 and there are currently only 13 players contracted for next year following the departure of Jake Webster to Keighley Cougars, which was announced yesterday.

John Kear is keen to add another nine and out-of-contract regulars such as Sam Hallas, George Flanagan and Ross Peltier are all pencilled in.

But that hinges on how soon the Bulls are taken out of special measures. As it stands, their current deals have only a month to run.