At least 30 suspects have been interviewed and police have recovered more than five million emails, text messages and computer files. [3] For the first time since becoming a league side the club had to apply for re-election in 1971, they finished the most favoured club with 49 votes. By clicking "OK" or continuing to use this site, you agree that we may collect and use your personal data and set The football club said it could not "comment on council process". A BBC investigation has revealed how the cash, totalling 37,000, originated from 1st Land Ltd, the company set up for the stadium development which also received the bulk of the loan money. The BBC has been unable to contact Mr Western. England. [38], In the 202122 season Northampton finished 4th, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion on the final day to Bristol Rovers. Initially, their chosen name was Northampton Football Club, but after objections from the town's rugby club, the club was called Northampton Town Football Club. Former club chairman David Cardoza was arrested last week as part of the investigation which police say is ongoing. I dont want to spoil what is a tremendous day for Bristol Rovers and Joey. High Court papers contain allegations developer Howard Grossman and his associates used a "substantial part" of the money for unrelated purposes. The claim was settled out of court and the parties signed a non-disclosure agreement. [16] Further, 1st Land paid 2.65M to Tony and David Cardoza. St. Mirren Park. [12] HMRC claimed to be owed a five-figure sum in unpaid taxes from the club, and said it would take the club to the High Court on 16 November unless payment was received. However, in the second leg, Cobblers performed the turnaround by winning 30 away from home. Northampton Town hold the record for the shortest time taken to be promoted from the bottom tier to the top tier and relegated back down to the bottom again, in the space of nine years. Northampton Borough Council loaned the money, which has since disappeared, to . Its assets were sold to Centurion Infinity Ltd, whose current and former directors include Marcus Grossman, Simon Patnick and Gary Robert Platt. 17h. Labour's Lord Foulkes of Cumnock highlighted on Wednesday donations made to the general election campaign of the council leader who oversaw the loan, David Mackintosh, who was subsequently elected as Conservative MP for Northampton South in 2015. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Is climate change killing Australian wine? In a statement, the trust said there was a drastic need for David Cardoza and Grossman to answer questions about the 10.25m. Read about our approach to external linking. Club missed out on automatic promotion to League One, Scunthorpe fielded seven teenagers in 7-0 loss at Bristol Rovers. Scunthorpe made three changes from their previous game against Hartlepool, with the second-year scholar Oliver Lobley, whose own goal gave Rovers the lead at the Memorial Stadium, making his league debut. Over 2,500 made the trip to Shrewsbury Town and saw the Cobblers win 32, despite being 20 down at half-time. All that exists in return for so much money are minor works on the west stand, floodlights understood to have cost a little over 100,000, and a shell of a new East Stand for which the developer, Buckingham Group, says it was paid only 442,000, before it downed tools. Since 1897, Northampton Town had played their home games at the County Cricket Ground, sharing it with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club. [20] However, things didn't go well under Gary Johnson: the club slid further down the table in League 2 and only just avoided relegation at the end of the 201011 season. Don't miss a move! 1st Land was put into administration in January 2015 by the building company, Buckingham. They joined the Northants League and spent two seasons there, winning the championship the second season. Tickets for the game at Tranmere Rovers have now sold out. On 20 December, Gorman resigned due to "personal issues" with the side 18th in the table, with Ian Sampson and Jim Barron briefly taking care of first team affairs. Stockdale hailed as best in League One after Wycombe make playoff final, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The council has now received advice that the valuation is not sufficiently robust. 8.75m was transferred by Northampton Town Football Club to 1st Land Ltd and County (Oundle) Ltd, both owned by Howard Grossman. [16], On 7 November 2015 The Guardian newspaper published a summary of the Sixfields issue under the headline Northampton Town: scandal of missing millions from council's stadium plan Cobblers supporters baffled and distressed as council seeks answers about what happened to 10.25m loan to pay for improvements to Sixfields stadium.[17]. In the three seasons prior to the breakout of World War II, the Cobblers finished seventh, ninth and 17th respectively in Division Three (South). [citation needed] The stand and associated works were in part funded by a 10.25 million loan from Northampton Borough Council. The new plan had been heralded as a "good deal all round". Club News COBBLERS EDGED OUT BY WATFORD IN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS RESERVE TEAM GAME 24 January 2017. Northampton Town: scandal of missing millions from councils stadium loan, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Max Dyche reflects on the visit of Bradford City. [18] In June 2020, the club confirmed that the Stadium would return to the original name, Sixfields Stadium, from the 1st of July 2021. The West Stand also accommodates the Cave & Sons Boardroom, the Able Print Players Lounge, the Grosvenor Casino 1897 Suite, Carrs Bar, and changing rooms. Millions of pounds of taxpayers' money intended for a football stadium redevelopment was "misappropriated" by developers, according to claims made in documents seen by the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. A team of between eight and 12 officers have been working on the inquiry. [29] Northampton finished 16th, meaning that they would continue to play third tier football. St Mirren. The ground also saw Northampton's lowest ever attendance in the Football League, a crowd of 942 for the 198485 match against Chester City. [21] In November 2011, Northampton appointed ex-Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd as their new manager. Northampton Town FC. Grossman himself said of 1st Lands affairs in February that he had been in a dispute with David and Tony Cardoza, and that 1st Land had actually paid 2.2m back to the football club. Aside from being a sports venue, Sixfields also houses conference facilities. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Although the Conservative council still has faith in that valuation, it does not meet the requirements of a "red book valuation", which the authority's leaders have been advised is needed before the deal can be approved. The Guardian has seen two invoices from an architect, Stuart Loxton, to 1st Land Ltd, for 18,500 in total, headed "Northampton Town Football Club: Design concept plans", which Loxton says . Tickets for the game at Tranmere Rovers have now sold out. The money apparently vanished when 1st Land went into administration after contractors working on the stadium went unpaid. Mr Mackintosh stood down as the Conservative candidate ahead of the 2017 general election after facing deselection in light of the revelations. The companys insufficiencies when it came to record keeping means that we are unable to determine the exact nature of payments worth millions of pounds of taxpayers money, who along with supporters of the football club are the real victims here.. Howard Grossman, like all directors, had specific duties as a company director but he blatantly disregarded them. The work remains incomplete and the Crown Prosecution Service is considering charges following a five-year police inquiry. The BBC has also seen a valuation sent on behalf of 1st Land Ltd to the football club in August 2014, detailing the cost of work carried out on the Sixfields development, as part of an application for further payment. On 30 May 2006, Northampton announced that Calderwood was leaving to join Nottingham Forest as their new manager,[15] and he was replaced by John Gorman on 5 June. Since July 2016, Northampton have trained at Moulton College in Moulton, Northampton. Through their solicitor, Mr Patnick, Marcus Grossman and Mr Hewitt said the payments were for "legitimate services to the company as consultants". We will not share your email address with any third parties. Northampton Borough Council loaned 10.25m - which later went missing - to Northampton Town Football Club for a stadium redevelopment project in 2014. In December 2003, the football club secured a 150-year lease on the ground from the local council. When this was not forthcoming, Buckingham put 1st Land into administration. If visiting teams bring less than 550, then they are housed in the East Stand instead. Source: Analysis based on administrator's documents and other papers obtained by the BBC. On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Copyright 1997 - 2023 NewsNow Publishing Limited. Documents filed at Companies House show Mr Platt was a director of a firm which lists two employees of Mr Grossman's County Group as co-directors. The unfinished East Stand at Northamptons Sixfields stadium, photographed last month. Detectives said they were investigating allegations of theft, fraud, money laundering, bribery and misconduct in public office. #OneOfOurOwn #ntfc #ProudToBe #Together. No new manager was appointed, instead a committee was formed consisting of the chairman, the coach and three senior players. Local government minister Lord Greenhalgh said he "condemned" the loss of taxpayers' money. At the time Mr Mackintosh denied any wrongdoing, and said: "To the best of my knowledge, all donations over the legal required amount were accepted, declared and published by Northampton South Conservative Association in accordance with the processes laid out by the Conservative Party and in accordance with the Representation of the People Act.". [39] Although Northampton started the final day in the automatic positions and managed to win their away match to Barrow 31, Bristol Rovers managed to beat Scunthorpe United 70. [30] On 26 June 2017 a 60% stake in Northampton Town was purchased by Chinese company 5uSport. In 2019 the High Court ordered the former owners of Northampton Town, David and Anthony Cardoza, to repay 2.1m to the council after it was established they had received the money from 1st Land. He said it was possible the deal would not be signed off at the 7 December meeting, adding it was "important to comply with every bit of legal advice" given what had happened previously with the missing loan. [3] This arrangement was due to continue for three seasons,[4] but in September 2014 Coventry returned to playing at the Ricoh Arena.[5]. That meeting was supposed to take place before the deal went before the council's cabinet on 7 December, where it had been hoped it would be given final sign-off. Council leader Jonathan Nunn said he did not know how long any "red book valuation" would take or what would happen if it came back with a different figure than the original 890,000. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We will not share your email address with any third parties. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. Northampton's has been manufactured by Hummel since 2020. New floodlights were installed in time for the 198081 season, but they failed during the first match against Southend United and the game had to be abandoned. Northampton Borough Council lent Northampton Town FC 10.25m for the work, none of which has been completed. The 199394 season got worse for the Cobblers as they finished bottom of the Football League for the only time in the club's history. Under Dave Bowen, the club achieved three promotions from the Fourth Division to the First Division within five years. [33] He had his contract extended in July 2020 for a further two years. All rights reserved. Please click 'Sign in and Subscribe' to continue. It was originally contracted for an 8m redevelopment of the East Stand, then dramatically downscaled the plans, but eventually downed tools with 1.9m unpaid to it by 1st Land. It was claimed his associates Marcus Grossman, Simon Patnick and Stephen Hewitt were paid 1.09m and that Howard Grossman sought to "disguise this misappropriation of trust money by labelling these transfers as consultancy payments". Previous manufacturers have included Bukta (197582), Adidas (198283), Umbro (198386), Spall (198688), MG (198889), Scoreline (198991), Beaver Sports (199192), Ribero (199293), Swift (199394), Lotto (199597), Pro Star (19972000), Sport House (200003), Xara (200305), Salming (200506), Vandanel (200609), Errea (200916), Nike (201620), Hummel (202023) and Puma (2023). Following this, the manager made substantial changes to the squad, bringing in experienced players such as Ian Taylor and Eoin Jess, and they enjoyed a successful 200506 league season. Standing opposite and identical to The Sheinman Opticians Stand, this end is reserved for away fans.
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