Thursday 26 November 2015 15:42, UK
Kelvin Thomas has officially completed his takeover of Sky Bet League Two club Northampton Town, having bought the club for £1.
The former Oxford United chairman has also paid off the club's tax bill and also confirmed the non-playing staff, who have not been paid since September, will receive their salaries next week.
Although Northampton are third in their division they have been in something of a crisis off the field, having been hit hard by the financial fall-out over issues relating to a £10.25m loan from the local council.
They have been the subject of a winding-up order from HMRC, which will be heard on Monday but should now be just a formality.
Members of Northampton Borough Council have agreed to free the club of the outstanding repayments of the loan, which had been issued to the Cobblers to pay for the redevelopment of the east stand at Sixfields Stadium.
"Since the council meeting, it has been full speed ahead to get the takeover done," said Thomas.
"The staff at the club have been fantastic and they've been told today that they will be paid in full next week.
"We are really looking forward to taking this club back out into the community of Northampton and we hope this will be the beginning of a successful era for the club.
"We think it's an important day for the club. We're very excited by the challenge and it's a really good club which we can really take forward."
Thomas also confirmed he was close to walking away from the deal, which was subjected to lengthy negotiations with former owner Cardoza, and says he will immediately inject £1m into the running of the club.
"The reality is in any transaction there are times when you have to make a decision and there were times we were close to walking away," he said.
"I'm sure the previous owners and the council felt the same way but the important thing is that it's all be resolved.
"Technically it was bought for a pound but it will be a substantial investment. We've got £1m set aside initially and, for the stand and everything else, we're looking at around £4m."
