Football club creditors who have been waiting more than nine months for their cash have been told payment is imminent.

Crawley Town Football Club owe money to a number of bodies and individuals including Crawley Borough Council, the Inland Revenue and former players.

The club was put into voluntary administration by the owners, brothers Aswar and Chas Majeed, last year.

Begbies Traynor, former administrators of the club and current supervisors, have written to creditors telling them the money is now available.

The letter says: "I have been informed by the company that the shareholder is now in a position to pay sufficient monies."

During the six-month administration period creditors agreed to accept 50p in the pound.

By the end of the period much of the debt, which was initially £1.4 million, remained unpaid.

Aswar Majeed's penthouse flat in North Street, Brighton, was put on the market for £1.4 million.

Creditors had been told the flat would be sold to cover the debts, either through an agent or at auction.

The flat remains unsold.

A spokesman for Crawley Town FC said: "The money has come from the sale of other businesses.

"We always had a plan B to fall back on if the flat didn't sell."

He added: "We are looking forward to next season debt free."

The Majeeds sold Barcena, Burgess Hill, in December last year.

The creditors have been told to return a form to supervisors Begbies Traynors confirming the amount of money they are owed.

A spokesman from Crawley Borough Council said they had received the letter and expected to be paid the undisclosed outstanding debt "within the next month or so."

The Majeeds also own businesses in Crawley, Worthing and Brighton, including the Saqqara bar in North Street, Brighton, which has been closed for refurbishment and will re-open as Javu on Saturday, March 31.

Last year, Saqqara was closed by police after massive fights broke out on two separate occasions.

In January Aswar Majeed was seriously injured when he crashed his Porsche. He made a full recovery.

A spokesman for the Devil's Trust, a Crawley Town supporters group, said: "On the surface this appears to be good news but we'll reserve judgment until payment is actually made. Until then there remains a nagging doubt."

Rumours had emerged that Chas Majeed had an arranged marriage during a trip to Pakistan.

Mr Majeed denied this was the case.

He said: "No I'm not married. I'd think I'd know if I'd got married."