RAJ SINGH’S takeover of Hartlepool United looks set to drag into next week, as the lawyers work to finalise the paperwork for a deal that will see the Teesside businessman commit to structured payments to the current owners over the next 12 years.

The wealthy former Darlington chairman will pass the Football Association’s owners and directors’ test without problem too, given the length of time that has elapsed since the Quakers last fell into administration 2012.

The Northern Echo understands Singh is not expecting any more hurdles and is just waiting for the two legal teams involved in the process to present the final documents to be signed and sealed by him and John Blackledge, whose company Sage Investments owns Hartlepool.

The agreement that has been in place between the two parties since before Wednesday’s victory at Barrow has not changed, it is just the finer details included in the document that are being amended ahead of completion.

There has not been the urgency to get things tied up after missing Thursday’s 5pm transfer deadline for National League clubs to sign players, while Hartlepool’s chairwoman Pam Duxbury arranged with Hartlepool Borough Council to issue a £77,000 loan to cover the club’s wages for March.

Football fan Singh, in a sign of how much he wants to take on the challenge of reviving Hartlepool’s fortunes, has been happy to hear the future transfer fees due to the club will head straight to the council to repay that sum, even though it would have been cash that could have helped his own rebuilding plans.

Hartlepool face Bromley on Tuesday and it will be hoped things can be completed by then, while the Hartlepool United Supporters' Trust has divulged a few details of the proposed deal – including how it is structured – and how Singh intends to pay Blackledge back a sizeable chunk of the £1.8m debt he is owed.

A statement from the Trust claimed: “We had a long chat with John Blackledge earlier this afternoon and he confirmed more details from the proposed heads of terms for the transfer of ownership.

“For confidentiality reasons we cannot disclose most of the content as the paperwork has not been signed at the time of writing. John did however allow some things to be disclosed which have already been reported.

“He confirmed the club will be exchanged for £1, though there will be small staggered payments to Mr Blackledge over the next 12 seasons. These would increase should the club progress upward through the leagues.

“Mr Singh has also agreed to make a financial contribution to the legal costs of Geoff Cunningham (solicitor).”

Blackledge has been criticised by many fans for the state the club finds itself in, having had links to former chairman Gary Coxall before taking over last year.

The Supporters Trust added: “Irrespective of what some fans may think, the reality is that he has ploughed a lot of money (somewhere close to £2m) into the football club. The vast majority of that money he is not going to see again, unless we have a run through to the Premier League in the next decade, a scenario we feel is unlikely.

“Had he not stepped in when he did there is little doubt the football club would have gone under last season.

“We are also on behalf of all fans grateful for the loan the Council has given the club to help pay staff salaries this month which will allow time for a takeover deal to be completed.”

  • Hartlepool have reduced prices for Tuesday’s visit of Bromley, when Matthew Bates will look to enhance his claims for the job by steering the team further away from the bottom four.
  • Tickets will be £10 for adults and £5 for concessions and are on sale from the Ticket Office and through the online site at the reduced rate.