Magpies Deal Set To Stave Off Taxman

Just four hours before Notts County were due to face court to defend a winding-up petition, bidder Alan Hardy says a deal has been done for him to buy the ailing club.

Hardy took to Twitter at 7am to announce that an agreement with owner Ray Trew had been agreed, with a statement also posted to the club's official site, and that they would work 'around the clock' to finalise plans.

The Magpies had apparently secured the cash to stave off the taxman before the weekend after apparently agreeing to sell 15 year old player Jack Bearne to Liverpool for £150,000. Hardy says he will now settle the bill and take the club forward.

The deal may also save the club's Ladies side, which was marked to be shut down in Companies House papers last week. Trew took the then Lincoln Ladies side that he owned to Meadow Lane when he bought the Magpies.

Hardy has made his money in an office refurbishment company but had previously been unwilling to agree to terms offered by Trew. The pair had been in discussions for much of the past year with price tags of up to £8million quoted in the press.