To Our Supporters,

With the club preparing for its next chapter, I wanted to write to you personally about my time at Kettering Town and the people I have come to know along the way.

I first became involved in April, initially as a consultant. Like anyone coming into a football club from outside, I had a great deal to learn. I will also admit that the noise surrounding the club made me apprehensive. Reports, online comments and conversations about financial mismanagement, debt and a divided fanbase had left me wondering what I would find. Those concerns stayed with me initially, and I wanted to look carefully at the position before taking on a greater role.

Over the months that followed, I got to know the people behind the club and began to understand how much they were putting into it. Working through the finances myself gave me a rather different perspective from the one I had formed outside. By the time I formally joined the Strategic Advisory Board in August, Kettering Town meant much more to me than it had when I first arrived. I had seen the care people have for this club, the work that goes on away from matchdays and the commitment George has made to its future.

That is what I would like to share with you. Much of that effort happens quietly, and as we approach a change of ownership, I think the people who have helped build what comes next deserve to have their contribution understood and appreciated.

To understand how far the club has come, we need to remember the starting point. The final accounts under the previous ownership, in June 2023, showed approximately £865,000 in liabilities against £48,000 in assets. Net liabilities stood at almost £817,000, annual turnover was approximately £409,000, and the club had made a loss of around £41,000.

That was a considerable burden to take on. Alongside the responsibility of putting a team on the pitch, there were historical obligations to address and facilities needing attention. The following year’s accounts recorded approximately £668,000 of historical creditor balances being written off, helping to resolve a substantial part of that inherited position. By August 2025, net liabilities had reduced to approximately £156,000.

Those figures provide some context, but what has stayed with me most is seeing where the work and money have gone.

Walk around Latimer Park today and there are improvements everywhere. Supporters will naturally notice the bar, the stand, the floodlights and the fanzone. Each has its own story, and together they represent a considerable effort. Over the last two years, more than £600,000 has been recorded across projects, improvements, stock and associated expenditure, supported by the club and its partners.

The bar renovation alone accounts for £75,000. Another £35,000 went into the new stand, £7,000 into the toilet block and £7,000 into the kitchen and furniture. The outdoor bars, windows, turnstiles and PA system have also received investment. These are facilities people will continue to use and enjoy beyond the current ownership.

I also want to give particular thanks to the Supporters Trust, who have bent over backwards to help finance upgrades around the ground. The toilets and PA system, amongst other improvements, were funded by the Trust. Their generosity and willingness to help have made a real difference to the facilities we all share, and deserve our heartfelt appreciation.

Then there is the work supporters might never have reason to notice. Electrical compliance cost £55,000, with a further £5,000 for the condition report. Drainage works, pitch reporting and league requirements accounted for £25,000, and another £20,000 went towards irrigation and its concrete base. The gym roof required £14,000, while the replacement boiler represents £18,000 being paid through an agreed plan.

They are substantial commitments. A repaired roof or safe electrical installation may attract little attention, but anyone responsible for keeping a ground running knows how much they matter.

The floodlights represent a project valued at £90,000, including a £16,000 contribution from the club. They are another improvement that will keep benefiting the Poppies for years to come.

For me, the fanzone captures something particularly special about what has happened here. The club contributed approximately £30,000 towards a project valued at around £72,000. The remaining approximately £42,000 represents work covered by Jay Sharpe, whose company provided an enormous amount of labour to bring it to life.

That was a generous contribution, and one that saved the club a substantial cost. When supporters gather in the fanzone, they are enjoying something made possible by people coming together and putting their resources and skills behind Kettering Town.

A plaque has been installed naming the individuals who worked together to make it possible. I am glad their names are there. They deserve to remain part of the story of that space.

The same is true of our volunteers throughout the club. Since joining, I have come to appreciate just how much they give. Their work contributes value running into thousands of pounds that the club would otherwise have to pay, and their willingness to keep helping makes an enormous difference.

There is a great deal of care behind that effort. Any account of what has been achieved should recognise the people who give their time so that everyone else can come along and enjoy their football.

The club’s income has also grown considerably. Turnover rose from approximately £409,000 in the year ended June 2023 to £478,000 the following year, then £1.31 million over the 14 months ended August 2025. The latest period is two months longer, so the figures need that context, but the growth in activity is substantial. That period also produced a profit after tax of approximately £81,000.

What interests me now is how we build on that progress and give the club income it can rely upon throughout the week. The bar, hospitality facilities and fanzone give us more reasons to welcome people to Latimer Park. The proposed 4G pitch and padel courts could extend those opportunities considerably.

The current projection for the 4G pitch is approximately £190,000 a year in revenue once it is delivered and achieves the anticipated bookings. There will be running and maintenance costs, but regular use across seven days could make a significant difference to the club. Around £35,000 has already been committed to the planning application.

The agreements with the padel court provider are intended to generate approximately £30,000 a year in rental income on a long-term basis. Once operational, that would provide another recurring income stream to support the club’s running costs and football ambitions.

Alongside these developments, £17,000 has been committed to legal and associated fees for extending the ground lease from 17 to 50 years. Securing that longer term matters: it gives the club greater certainty over its home and a firmer basis for investing in facilities and building long-term income. It is another commitment made now whose benefits will continue beyond the current ownership.

I know supporters also want reassurance about the commitments that remain, particularly given some of the noise surrounding the club’s finances. Having worked through the position myself, I see the outstanding balances as the kind of business commitments any normal organisation can have: costs arising from investment, supplier balances and obligations being settled through agreed arrangements. They need careful management, and that is the work we are doing.

Payment plans have been arranged, including 12-month arrangements with HMRC, and outstanding debt is reducing every month. The expenditure records £17,000 paid towards the inherited £28,000 E.ON bill. We have also significantly improved our costs, with the new, leaner organisation making a substantial contribution.

I see that work being done each month. It is helping us meet our commitments while bringing the balances down. The club will be handed over debt-free, with all undisputed debts cleared and a £0 balance owed to HMRC at completion. That is an important part of the handover we are working to deliver, alongside the improved facilities and opportunities for future income.

On the pitch, there is progress to recognise too.

Kettering has a proud history, and supporters rightly remember the standards set by earlier teams. At Step 3, the 2018/19 championship-winning side collected 94 points and took the club into National League North. Those are memories to treasure and achievements to aspire to.

Following relegation in 2023, our first season back at Step 3 ended in 15th place with 48 points. We then earned 77 points and finished second in 2024/25, reaching the play-off final — an improvement of 29 points. The following season brought 72 points, fourth place and another play-off appearance.

That is 149 league points across two seasons and consecutive opportunities to win promotion. We all wanted to take that final step, and falling short hurt. But moving from 15th to successive promotion challenges represents real progress, and the effort behind those campaigns deserves appreciation.

Looking back at my own first impressions, the description of a divided club does not reflect the family of Kettering Town I have come to know. There are differences of opinion and frustrations, of course. People have strong feelings because this club means so much to them. But I have found that family far stronger than I had been led to believe.

What I have repeatedly seen is generosity, loyalty and a shared wish to see Kettering Town succeed. I have been grateful for the opportunity to become part of that and to work alongside people who give so much.

Supporters will have their own views on George’s ownership. I can only speak from my experience of working with him and seeing the finances, the projects and the commitment involved. From that position, I believe his contribution deserves to be recognised.

As George prepares to hand over, he will leave improved facilities, essential infrastructure, a considerably larger revenue base and opportunities to develop regular income beyond matchdays. That debt-free handover will give the next owners a stronger foundation from which to take the club forward.

There is still work to do, and ambitions we all want to see fulfilled. But there is also much to appreciate.

I want to thank George for the money, time and energy he has devoted to Kettering Town, and our volunteers, staff, partners and supporters for everything they have helped make possible. Long after the ownership changes, the work they have done together will remain part of our club and its future.

Monwar Khandokar
Head of Financial Performance
Kettering Town FC