Andrew Tinkler has dangled the carrot of pumping a further £10 million into Eddie Stobart as the struggle for control of the troubled haulier intensifies.

In a frantic few days, TVFB (3) Limited – the company controlled by the high-profile Cumbrian businessman – said it would inject up to £80m of equity funding into the company, up from the £70m previously pledged, in part, to help tackle its mounting debts.

In a statement, TVFB also confirmed it had acquired a 6.5 per cent stake in Eddie Stobart in a move it described as “indicative of our belief in the prospects of ESL as an independent listed company”, with Mr Tinkler firmly in the driving seat as chief executive, a position he has previously held.

TVFB also claims its proposal has the support of the “vast majority” of Eddie Stobart shareholders it had contacted, and that its business plan – which it had shared with the company’s board – was deliverable.

TVFB has, which re-entered the fray in the struggle for control of the Cumbrian-born trucking giant last month, insisted its proposal offers more value to shareholders and stakeholders than the bid from international asset management firm DBAY Advisors.

And according to Sky News, advisers to Andrew Tinkler are set to lodge an appeal with the Takeover Panel to block DBAY’s bid – which the Eddie Stobart board has again insisted should be voted through buy shareholders at a crunch meeting on Friday (December 6).

They want to stop DBAY and William Stobart – the fourth child of the company’s founder who, under its proposal, would be parachuted in to lead Eddie Stobart’s festive turnaround – from voting at the general meeting with the two, along with other “concert parties”, now owning a 29.9 per cent stake in it.

Meanwhile, long-term backer DBAY has issued its own stark warning, claiming that Eddie Stobart would be put in peril if its proposal to take a 51 per cent state and provide a £55m high interest loan is unsuccessful.

“Should the DBAY proposal be voted down, the Eddie Stobart board will be faced with an imminent liquidity shortfall, imminent expiry of the existing waivers from the Lenders relating to the breaches of the Company’s credit facility and no support from the Lenders to explore alternative options,” it said in a statement.

“DBAY has worked non-stop over the past months to develop a robust plan for the business, which would ensure its stability going forward and restore value in the equity to the benefit of all shareholders.

“This plan is based upon DBAY’s extensive experience gained during its past ownership when the Company thrived as a highly profitable and cash-generative logistics business.”

DBAY also confirmed it had the support of Eddie Stobart’s lenders, Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, BNP Paribas and KBC.

The four are owed a combined £200m relating to breaches of its credit facility, but a waiver has been secured by the Eddie Stobart board until 13 December, it confirmed.

In its own statement, the Eddie Stobart board said that the lenders are not willing to provide any additional funding – a position they had communicated to TVFB, but had so far, failed to result in a further proposal.

“As such, the only proposal received to date capable of being implemented with the consent of the Lenders is the DBAY Proposal,” it said.

“For this reason, the Board continues to recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the DBAY proposal. This proposal is the only concrete offer to date which has the support of the Lenders and secures the long-term future of the company.”

Shareholders are set to vote on both of the bids on Friday.

If successful DBAY would return as owner, having indirectly owned Eddie Stobart between 2014 and 2017 before it was listed on the junior AIM stock exchange. In August its shares on AIM were suspended after it was revealed that bosses had found a £2m accounting error.

It would also install William Stobart – who served as executive chairman of Eddie Stobart Logistics Limited until 2017 – as executive chairman of Greenwhitestar, the subsidiary which holds all of the trading entities within the Eddie Stobart group.

Meanwhile, TVFB’s proposal holds the promise of another dramatic return, with Mr Tinkler taking up a role at the firm he had held up until 2014.

He is understood to be backing the TVFB offer of equity funding with £10m of his own money with the remainder coming from institutional investors and other new investors.

On finding himself on the opposing side to childhood friend and former colleague William Stobart, Mr Tinkler, said: “We are great friends, but this is business. He wants to go down his route, and I want to go down mine.”

Mr Tinkler has also claimed to have the backing of another major Eddie Stobart shareholder and former employer, Stobart Group, who sensationally sacked him last year. Mr Tinkler lost a High Court case for unlawful dismissal in February, and two months later lost an appeal to have the decision overturned.