Northampton issued with winding-up petition by HMRC

Northampton Town have been issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The League Two club currently owe £10.25million to Northampton Borough Council - the deadline for repayment is Thursday - and have seen a London-based Indian consortium pull out of a potential deal to buy the club.

However, club chairman  David Cardoza believes there is still 'a bright future ahead' for Northampton and says talks with the council are on-going.

"Meetings have and are continuing this week," Cardoza said. "We are very close to reaching an agreement on the sale of the club to one of a number of interested parties and we believe we will have some definite news very soon.

"The potential purchasers are well aware of all the issues, including the HMRC discussions. Talks have been ongoing with the council.

We are putting proposals to the council regarding the repayment of the loan which we hope will prove satisfactory

"We are putting proposals to Northampton Borough Council regarding the repayment of the loan which we hope will prove satisfactory to them and that process is ongoing as we speak.

"I fully appreciate that, off the pitch, there only seems to be bad news for supporters at the moment but we are working towards, and we believe we are close to, a conclusion on all matters that tidies up all of the issues surrounding the club and allows it to move forward to a much brighter future."

A statement from the club added that Cardoza "fully expects the matter to be resolved by the end of next week."