Kettering Town granted extension over winding-up petition

Kettering Town have been given a 56-day extension to halt a winding-up petition for money owed to HM Revenue & Customs.

The Poppies almost went out of business in June last year, but have been paying a portion of their debts in the form of a Company Voluntary Arrangement.

They have until 24 June for "returns and settlement" of their issues.

The 141-year-old club is due to play in the eighth tier of English football next season after finishing bottom of the Southern Premier League.

Last season, Kettering were in the Blue Square Bet Premier, but were relegated two levels and deducted 10 points as a result of going into a CVA.

Owner Imraan Ladak has been trying to offload the club, but a deal to sell to George Rolls fell through last summer when the former Cambridge United chairman was banned from being involved in football for breaches of FA betting rules.

The winding-up order was issued on 18 March, but in a statement, volunteers who have been running the club said Ladak had only brought it to the board's attention on Wednesday.

The statement added: "For the last 24 hours the volunteers, who are trying to keep the club going, have been trying to investigate the extent of the winding-up order [petition], which, it seems, relates to monies due, assessed by HMRC, from the date of the CVA in June 2012."