London Welsh have confirmed that proposed investment from Californian consortium Phoenix Group has failed to materialise ahead of the club's impending winding-up order.

The Championship side - one of the world's oldest rugby clubs - had expected to receive funding from the company in September and October but according to The Guardian, the promised payments did not arrive.

London Welsh may now be wound up by the High Court on December 12, forcing a new company to be created with possible implications for the side's standing in the rugby league structure.

"There are lots and lots of options you can do when you're in this situation," new chairman Gareth Hawkins told the newspaper. "We want [London Welsh] to be a community-held club, rather than in the hands of one or two shareholders, which hasn't really worked in the past."

Welsh are currently sixth in the Championship after the first nine games of the season.