Northampton Town Football Club owes builders almost £3m

Work to revamp the East Stand has been abandoned

A building firm employed to revamp Northampton Town's stadium says it is owed almost £3m.

The East Stand at Sixfields remains half-built after Buckingham Group downed tools in June.

The company is trying to reclaim the money it says it is owed through a petition for bankruptcy.

A prospective takeover of the club, which faces a winding-up petition over unpaid tax, fell through earlier this week.

Buckingham Group says it had to stop work twice - initially when contractors 1st Land Limited went into administration and again when contracting company County Development Northampton Limited (CDNL) failed to pay them in full.

Northampton Town chairman David Cardoza and his father Anthony Cardoza are the only company directors listed for CNDL.

'Takeover delays'

In a statement, Buckingham Group said: "We wish to make it clear that the reason why the East Stand construction works ceased completely in early June 2015 was entirely due to non-payment of monies due and certified.

"We stopped work because we were not paid."

A hearing is listed for Thursday at Birmingham County Court, which the building firm said it will attend.

Meanwhile, the club is the subject of a winding-up petition by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

A statement from the club said the debt is "a temporary issue due to the delays in completing the takeover".

Mr Cardoza has been in talks with HMRC to resolve the matter and expects it to be resolved by the end of next week, according to the club.

Mr Cardoza was not available for comment, but in a statement on the club website he said: "Meetings have and are continuing this week and 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."