No guarantee debt will not be loaded on Liverpool FC again
Wed 3rd Nov 2010 | Money & Finance
Just when Liverpool fans thought it was safe to come from behind the sofa it emerged yesterday that the protracted takeover of Liverpool Football Club by NESV led by John W Henry comes without any formal guarantee the acquisition cost will not be ‘loaded’ on the club.
In questions posed to John W Henry by the Guardian newspaper it emerged that no formal guarantee that the acquisition costs would not be loaded onto the club, had been formally considered to be written into the deal.
However, it’s understood that while Henry gave chairman Martin Broughton assurances, it was decided that 'such a commitment would not be strictly legally enforceable', and was therefore not given in writing.
The majority of the debt that was loaded onto the club by the previous American owners, Hicks & Gillett has been paid off, the only money the club now owes is £37million to RBS for the cost of development work for their proposed new stadium.
"The simplest thing to say is that we removed all debt but the stadium debt," Henry said.
"LFC is not servicing debt other than stadium debt."
Henry did also promise not to use club finances for interest payments on any debt they may have, just as Hicks and Gillett did. However, they eventually did take many millions from the club to pay interest on their loans.
Henry also refused to disclose how his takeover was funded. In an e-mail to The Guardian, he wrote:
"I have certain obligations to my partners regarding confidentiality of a private company and in not disclosing our financials publicly.
"LFC discloses its financials annually, so monies going in and going out are disclosed. But I'm not going to disclose NESV financials or financing information."
- SUBSCRIBE TO THE F.C. BUSINESS RSS FEED
- BECOME A FAN OF F.C. BUSINESS ON FACEBOOK
- FOLLOW OUR TWEETS ON TWITTER
- LINKED IN TO FOOTBALL INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS
If you have any football business related news stories you’d like to share then please contact us – agourley@fcbusiness.co.uk or ryan@fcbusiness.co.uk
Google
Yahoo
Live
del.icio
DiggRelated Articles
Manchester City 'best value for money' for fans
Tue 22nd May 2012 | Money & Finance
Manchester City have won the Premier League title and are also top of the league of value for fans, according to the ING Direct Value table. The bank chart compares club season ticket costs with...
Manchester United remain world's most valuable football brand
Tue 22nd May 2012 | Money & Finance
Manchester United remain the world’s most valuable football brand with a value of €672.9 million (£543m), despite ending the 2011-12 campaign without a trophy. The Brand Finance...
Gold welcomes financial benefits
Mon 21st May 2012 | Money & Finance
David Gold admits West Ham would have been in big financial trouble had they failed to make an immediate return to the Premier League. Gold reckons that Ricardo Vaz Te's goal three minutes from time...
Liverpool Count Cost Of Stadium Ambitions
Thu 3rd May 2012 | Money & Finance
Liverpool’s latest accounts show the true extent of Hicks and Gillett’s troubled tenure with over £35m wasted on the failed Stanley Park project. In an interview on the club’s...
