Monday 23 November 2015 19:25, UK
Former Oxford United chairman Kelvin Thomas has agreed a takeover of Northampton Town.
Current owner David Cardoza has agreed to sell his controlling stake to Thomas after more than a month of negotiations between the two parties.
Cardoza was under growing pressure to complete the sale to Thomas after several lengthy delays, with a fans' group planning a protest march to his house, and the club's non-playing staff having not been paid since the end of September.
That frustration extended to manager Chris Wilder, who used his post-match media conference after the win at Notts County on Saturday to address the issue, and the club themselves took the unusual step of writing a Facebook post urging their own chairman to sell up.
Northampton are currently fighting to avoid being placed into administration and on Monday were awarded an extended period of time to agree a takeover, when a decision on a winding-up petition from HMRC for an unpaid tax bill of £166,000 was adjourned until November 30.
Any potential new owners would have to re-negotiate a £10.25m debt owed to Northampton Borough Council and consult with the local authority over a piece of land nearby that is prime for redevelopment.
Thomas issued a statement on November 19 expressing his own concerns at the delays and confirming that financial plans had already been put in place to put the club on an even keel.
The statement read: "We have shown all parties including the Football League bank accounts with the required funds available and have set up Northampton Town Ventures Limited, which has £1m for immediate transfer into the football club upon completion to take care of the short term issues."
In an issue completely separate from the takeover, it has also been confirmed that Northamptonshire Police have served a warrant on the club's Sixfields Stadium to secure paperwork relating to the £10.25m loan.
A police statement said: "(We) can today confirm that we have received a formal complaint from Northampton Borough Council.
"This relates to alleged financial irregularities surrounding the loan made by the council to Northampton Town Football Club. The football club is being fully co-operative at this stage."
