Chairman Ritchie Jeune is hopeful Kettering Town will be able to resolve the latest blow to the club’s future after it was served with a winding up order by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
A statement on the club’s website confirmed Jeune was only contacted about the order by owner Imraan Ladak yesterday to notify him of the order, which was first presented on March 18.
The club have until 4pm tomorrow (Friday) to “give notice of its intention to oppose the petition” with the hearing due to take place in London on Monday.
Jeune confirmed the club will have a representative in the capital for the hearing and that an adjournment will be sought and, should that be the case, that all money owed “will be paid”.
And he also insisted the lateness of the notification was due to the club’s address not being changed. The Poppies are currently based at Steel Park in Corby while the documentation about the winding up order was sent to Rockingham Road.
Jeune and his band of volunteers have been keeping the club alive since it almost went under in October and he is hoping to secure a takeover from Ladak this summer while also getting the club out of its long-term lease at Nene Park.
His plan for the future involves a move back into the borough at Burton Latimer while, on the pitch, Thomas Baillie’s relegated side head to Chesham United for their final Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division game on Saturday.
The club statement said: “Yesterday Ritchie Jeune was contacted by the club owner (Ladak), who indicated that Kettering Town F C Management Limited is facing a winding up order, issued by HM Revenue and Customs.
“This order was presented on March 18, 2013 and advertised in the London Gazette on April 17. The hearing is in London next Monday, April 29.
“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, which, it seems, relates to monies due, assessed by HMRC, from the date of the CVA in June 2012.
“The Limited Company has until 4pm on Friday (tomorrow) to give notice of its intention to oppose the petition and before that can be done more information and the cooperation of the club owner will be urgently sought.”
Jeune added: “All the documentation was sent to Rockingham Road, it is not as if Imraan has kept this from us.
“He only found out about it yesterday like we did. As volunteers, we have no power to change any addresses or anything like that.
“The order has been served and we have spoken with HMRC and also sent all the relevant documentation since we have been at Steel Park. We have explained the situation.
“The problem we have is with the time we have to deal with this but that is the club’s fault for not changing its address.
“As long as we have someone at the hearing on Monday, we are hopeful there will be an adjournment and then we will be able to provide HMRC with the information they need and will be able to pay the amount that is owed.”