Northampton Town chairman David Cardoza received £2.65m 'loan'

David Cardoza and his father Anthony claim the £2.65m was for a "Joint Venture Fee"

A football club chairman and his father were given a "loan" of more than £2.5m by a company set up to oversee the development of its stadium.

Administrators' reports suggest around £7m of £10.25m lent to Northampton Town by the local borough Council was passed to 1st Land Limited.

A total of £2.65m was then given to David Cardoza and his father, Anthony.

David Cardoza declined to comment, saying: "I'm under confidentiality so can't speak."

A report from March this year showed a dispute arose between the Cardozas and 1st Land, which has since gone into administration, over the money.

Work on the East Stand has still not been completed

The Cardozas called it a "Joint Venture Fee" - money paid to one party to help carry out a jointly-run project - but 1st Land said it was a loan.

It is unclear what has since happened to the money.

The £10.25m loan was originally paid to the League Two club for the redevelopment of the new East Stand at Sixfields Stadium, along with a hotel and conference centre - none of which have been completed.

Contractors Buckingham Group were appointed to carry out the works, with 1st Land appointed to oversee the development.

When the company went into administration, it owed Northampton Town £7.3m and Buckingham Group more than £2m.

The Cardozas and fellow businessmen, Howard Grossman, his son Marcus Grossman and Simon Patnick, feature as directors of several firms with business links to 1st Land and a second company appointed to oversee the development - County Developments (Northampton) Limited or CDNL.

Many of these companies have gone into liquidation.

Howard Grossman is listed as the only director of 1st Land; which is owned by another Grossman firm, County Group.

The administrators' report also lists payments of £314,000 to Howard Grossman for his salary; £1.475m to County Homes (Herts) Ltd and £233,000 to County Cemetery Services Limited.

The director of County Homes is also Howard Grossman.

The £10.25m was loaned for the development of Sixfields Stadium

County Cemetery Services lists two current directors: Marcus Grossman and Simon Patnick.

David Cardoza was a director of the company until August last year.

It has also gone into administration - but not before a sale agreement was made with a company called Centurion Infinity Limited; whose directors are Marcus Grossman and Simon Patnick.

After the collapse of 1st Land, CDNL took over the job of facilitating the Sixfields development. Its current directors are listed as David and Anthony Cardoza, while Marcus Grossman and Simon Patnick resigned directorships in January.

That company has now also entered liquidation.

The club faces a winding-up petition, due to be heard on 16 November, from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).