At last night's Annual General Meeting club chairman Reg Smart and vice-chairman Roger Hunt were re-elected to the board of directors, but the real buzz of the evening came when a questioner drew confirmation from director Gary Harwood that the club is in talks with a potential investor.

The individual, who is an existing shareholder, could potentially invest as much as £200,000 into the club but Harwood warned that he is not a Jack Walker-like figure, referring to the multi-millionaire backer of Blackburn Rovers.

He told the Cambridge Evening News, "The gentleman is a Cambridge United supporter who is interested in buying a large amount of shares which would make him a major shareholder, but he is not a millionaire with an idea of taking control. In fact, it seems he may not want to join the board of directors, but he has expressed an interest in helping the club, and it would mean a substantial cash injection.

"We are having talks with him, and he seems in tune with our general plan for the development of the club. But both sides need certain assurances before any large sale of shares takes place."

Other items emerging during the meeting were that the club had purchased and then re-sold number 14 Elfleda Road at a loss of £2,000 but after gaining some of the garden for extra car parking space, and since the purchase of the old Corona works the value of the site has apparently increased from £750,000 to £3m. Regarding this point, the board were asked if there was not an imbalance between share capital and shareholders' funds and the response was to hint at a new share issue and attracting new investors.

Harwood stressed that the club would continue to trade at a loss unless average attendances rose to around 8,000 or the club is allowed to redevelop the stadium to maximise opportunities for additional income. On that note chairman Reg Smart confirmed everyone's suspicions by saying it was likely that Martin Butler or Trevor Benjamin would have to be sold this season, even with the club in a precarious position in Division Two.

"I don't want to sell any player, but in our situation, losing around £500,000 a year, there is just no choice," he said.

Roy McFarland seemed to avoid a direct answer when he was asked if a deal had already been struck to transfer one of the strikers once United were knocked out of the FA Cup. His reply was: "We have turned down offers for both players because they did not reach our valuation, and I don't want to say publicly what that valuation is."

He commented that he is not sure about Adam Tann's best position, saying that the England Under-18 international can play in the centre of on the right of defence, or in midfield. He also tipped the shareholders to look out for youth team striker Daniel Chillingworth who he described as an "exciting" prospect who we could expect to see in the first team in the next year or two.