Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has retaken sole control of the League One club after buying back most of the shares he sold to Canada-based duo Dr Jason Neale and Randy Thompson in March 2018. The exchange of shares is part of a long-term loan settlement agreement with Canadian investment fund OKR Financial, which Neale and Thompson co-founded in 2016. MacAnthony said he is delighted to announce that after a lengthy negotiation, they have signed off on a long-term agreement with OKR Financial on all debt owed to it by Peterborough United Football Club. His job as chairman of the club is to ensure they live within their means, reduce their debts in a sensible and sustainable manner whilst at the same time having a competitive team that goes out every week to put smiles on their faces with what they deliver on the pitch. Neale and Thompson bought their 50 per cent stake in the club via a separate company called Kelgary Sports and Entertainment, paying MacAnthony £2.5m for the shares and loaning the club an additional £3m. But their business relationship ended abruptly last year when OKR's investors accused Neale of making unauthorised loans from OKR to Kelgary and other businesses. Neale denies any wrongdoing but he was forced out of OKR and recovery agents were brought in to chase those loans, including ones made to Kelgary and Peterborough's stadium company subsidiary. Thompson is still a managing partner at the fund. Late last year, OKR sent a demand to the club for repayment of its loan, which has been accruing compound interest at an annual rate of 18 per cent, and earlier this year it seized the Peterborough United shares owned by Neale and Thompson when a Canadian court ruled that Kelgary owed the fund Can$24.7m (£14.5m). That court ruling came shortly after OKR had put the stadium subsidiary, London Road Peterborough Properties Ltd, into receivership. Since then, the club's rent for playing at the venue goes directly to the fund and local council, the latter as part of a repayment plan for historic rent arrears. According to the club's most recent set of accounts, which were filed at Companies House at the end of June, OKR's demand was for more than £7million. The club disputed this amount and the accounts reveal that the club made a payment of £1.1million in 2022. But the accounts also noted that OKR's loan is secured by a charge on the company's assets and the right to appoint an administrator in the event of a default. A month after those accounts were made public, Thompson wrote to OKR's investors to tell them the fund did not have enough cash to pay them a dividend for the fourth quarter in a row. He added that litigation against Neale was continuing and the fund's recovery team was in talks with Peterborough United about their debt. While the negotiations have taken longer than he originally claimed, he has now struck a deal with OKR over its debt and bought back a significant chunk of Kelgary's shares. When asked by The Athletic in July if this threat of administration was real, Thompson said the fund knows how much it is owed and is asking the amount gets paid in full. The process of acknowledging that amount and executing on a plan forced the fund to go to the next step on the stadium. However, he thinks they all want this to be completed amicably and in a way that the investors are whole and PUFC supporters are left with a financially stable club. The deal will provide a sense of relief for Peterborough United's fans, who have been worried about the club's financial stability. And with MacAnthony back in control, the club can now focus on the pitch and try to achieve their goals in League One. But the road ahead will not be easy, and the club will need to work hard to reduce their debts and become financially sustainable. So, the future of Peterborough United is still uncertain, but one thing is clear - the club is in a better position now than it was a few months ago. The club's fans will be hoping that MacAnthony can lead the team to success and bring back the good times to London Road Stadium. The coming months will be crucial for Peterborough United, and it will be interesting to see how the club performs under MacAnthony's leadership. The club's finances are still a concern, but with the deal with OKR Financial, the club has taken a big step towards financial stability. And with a competitive team on the pitch, the club's fans have reason to be optimistic about the future.