Mr Derry, fronting a group of local businessmen, has signed a confidentiality agreement with former Stags' owner Keith Haslam in which both sides have agreed not to reveal financial details of the sale.

But Chad understands that his consortium will pay £500,000 for the football club, a figure which had also been agreed in principle by one of the other bidders for the club earlier in the summer.

There will also be an annual rent of £200,000 — which Mr Derry negotiated down from the asking price of £250,000 — on a 10-year lease of the Field Mill stadium.

This rental figure will be re-negotiated if the Stags are relegated and will be reviewed after five years.

The consortium will be responsible for the upkeep of the stadium.
When asked if the deal included an option to buy Field Mill, Mr Derry told Chad: "In theory there is . . . but all our plans are based on us staying put."

It is known that Mr Haslam had also been asking for a percentage of any future transfer fees on players currently at the club, but it is thought that this does not form part of the final deal.

However, Mr Haslam's own company Stags Ltd will not be repaying the £585,000 it owes the football club, money borrowed to buy land at Beck Lane, Skegby, for a football academy — still to get beyond the planning stage — back in 2001.

Mr Derry added: "This is down to the lawyers, but the figure is not in my calculations."