Image Courtesy: Press Association
On Friday Tottenham revealed that it had paid back the 175 million pounds (USD 243 million) it borrowed from the Bank of England. This was borrowed as part of a coronavirus loan scheme and could help free up cash for the club to sign a new manager and new players. The Premier League club said it repaid the low-interest loan from the 250 million pounds (USD 347 million) it recently raised from institutional investors.
“The club’s ability to manage effectively throughout the COVID period led to discussions with the same institutions that supported the club in 2019 to refinance stadium funding,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement.
“Our institutional investors and banks,” he continued, “have been supportive and positive throughout the pandemic despite the uncertainty in the economy and the lack of fans at the stadium for the past two seasons, for which we are very grateful.”
Spurs are still in search of a new manager after sacking Jose Mourinho a week before the final against Manchester City. They had reported an annual loss of 63.9 million pounds (USD 88.7 million) for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2020, due to the pandemic and stadiums being shut to fans.
The club also warned that it risked losing out on more than 150 million pounds (USD 208 million) in revenue if supporters were kept away from returning through the season due to pandemic restrictions. Fans were allowed to return in limited numbers for the final home game of the season. Spurs’ striker and talisman Harry Kane has submitted a transfer request to the club because he’s unhappy with the direction of the club and their failure to win trophies. Manchester City has been linked with Kane despite the placing of a €120 million price tag on the player by Daniel Levy.
Apart from paying back the central bank, the new funding scheme “will also partially repay a bank loan held by the Bank of America which had a shorter term, moving it to fixed-rate 15-year money, locking in low-interest rates and extending the tenure of the debt,” the club said.