THE chill wind buffeting the UK economy has put Leyton Orient's big plans in the deep freeze.

That's according to chairman Barry Hearn, who revealed he cannot find a buyer for the club he wants to sell.

But he is convinced the club is financially stable, with the recent sale of the stadium to his firm, Matchroom Sport (MS.)

And the sports mogul still believes the club's long-term future lies away from Brisbane Road and at a new home in Harlow, with a bigger potential fan base.

Orient's own self-styled 'benevolent despot' spoke to the Guardian after he met shareholders on Monday at the club's annual general meeting.

He said: "The movers and shakers in football know Orient is available, but my door is not being banged down. In fact, I haven't had even as much as a tap."

In a perfect world, I'd love to get out to someone who can do something I can't do, which is take this club further."

If those people come in, I'm out in a flash, but I think it'll be hard to find them. If not, I don't walk away. But this has definitely been affected by the credit crunch, because nobody has any money."

"The shareholders are lumbered with me for a few more years."

Out of the boardroom, some fans in the stands are worried for Orient's future on the field. A lack of spending on players and the purchase of the ground by MS are chief concerns.

Mr Hearn is adamant it is good for the club.

He said: "It has stopped us paying interest on various debts. We owed Lombard £1m. Now, we've cleared everything in one go to make us one of only three or four Football League clubs with no borrowing at all. It gives us a clean slate.

"The sale deprived the club of an asset, but not revenue. There's no revenue associated with the ground for Matchroom. All the receipts generated by football are the club's. Matchroom gets none of that.

"The club has a couple of million pounds in the bank, they're secure for the next four or five years. We can enjoy ourselves.

"We've protected the future by owning the ground, so that if I should sell the club, nobody can do anything to the ground without my support."

But Orient's supremo did not guarantee that MS would underwrite Orient in the future against any financial troubles that might befall the club, such as difficulties meeting rent payments to MS.

"Who knows?" he said. "It's our job to run the club so it doesn't [hit trouble]. That problem [rent] fortunately won't come up for five years because it's rent-free for five years. We have that period to run this as a proper business."

Mr Hearn also confirmed the hunt is on for a player to fill in for defender Tamika Mkandawire, who was injured in the 1-0 defeat against Walsall on Saturday.

And with the economic freeze bringing his plans for the club to a grinding halt, transfer matters could be the sole activity for some time.

The chairman said he is 'relaxed' at the prospect of being in charge for longer than he anticipated.

"It won't be easy, because in today's economic climate nobody's doing anything. It's a complete non-starter. But that's life."