Northampton Town set for takeover by Indian consortium

Northampton Town finished 12th in League Two in 2014-15

League Two side Northampton Town are set to be taken over by an Indian consortium after both parties signed a heads of terms agreement.

The buyout will see chairman and owner David Cardoza sell his entire stake.

"We've been looking for investment for a while, more on a 50-50 sale - but the buyers have said they want to take control of everything," said Cardoza.

"It's a bit out of the blue, but it's unquestionably in the best interests for everyone to get this deal done."

The identities of the consortium members have yet to be disclosed.

Cardoza, who believes the takeover could go through within a month, told BBC Radio Northampton: "I wouldn't be selling the football club unless I was confident it was going to the right people."

David Cardoza took over the club in 2003

The consortium are buying both the football club and land around the Sixfields ground and Cardoza said they will invest "significant funds" into both those assets.

"It's a big investment for Northampton. Having these sort of people up here will mean other regeneration deals will become possible as well," he continued.

Cardoza was also quick to allay fears that the consortium were just interested in the land around Sixfields and not in the football club, who finished 12th in League Two last season.

"They are definitely people who want to invest in football, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. But they are also very interested in the redevelopment of the football club, hotel, conference centre and the land.

"This is a very positive move for Northampton and I'm sure the fans over time will be delighted," he said.

The announcement comes amid a lack of progress on the redevelopment of the East Stand at Sixfields, which began last year.

And Cardoza said the takeover was one reason why the work has been held up.

"It's all connected. We haven't been able to say too much, but there's been an awful lot going on in the last few weeks," he explained.

Cardoza, who oversaw a Sixfields groundshare with Coventry between July 2013 and September 2014, said criticism from some fans over the redevelopment had made his life difficult.

"It's been the worst 12 months of my life, and as the chairman and owner of the club I've had to take the brunt of everything that's happening.

"So in a way this all sort of comes together at possible the right time, but it's also not physically happened just yet," he added.