CHERRIES co-owner Paul Baker is expecting to hold takeover talks with prospective buyers in the next seven days after revealing the number of interested parties had increased.

At the weekend, Baker said he had been in contact with four possible purchasers.

But since Cherries secured their Football League status with Saturday’s dramatic victory over Grimsby Town, Baker reported that the number of potential bidders for the club had grown to seven.

The Chester-based businessman sent out non-disclosure agreements to the seven yesterday and he is also in the process of delivering financial information packs to the parties.

Following that, he intends to hold discussions with a view to negotiating a sale as quickly as possible.

Baker, who has made no secret of the fact he has been actively trying to sell the Dorset club, told the Echo: “Seven is a significant number and I’m going to have to spend a lot of time meeting prospective purchasers to see who the most likely candidate to take the club forward is.”

He is keeping an open mind ahead of the discussions as he seeks a buyer with the appropriate funding the take Cherries forward in a positive manner.

“The door is not shut on anybody and, once the parties receive the information they need, we’ll see if they are in a position to make an offer in principle,” said Baker.

“I want someone who is going to give the club stability and have adequate funding to stabilise it and possibly be in a position to buy the ground back. That’s the utopia for everybody but, if there is a buyer with that funding, I’d have to give that serious consideration.”

Baker stressed the importance of coming to a speedy resolution, with the club yet to launch their 2009-10 season tickets, while manager Eddie Howe needs to know what sort of budget he will have to work with ahead of the new campaign.