Post by QPR Report on Oct 14, 2008 6:53:47 GMT
This from today's Guardian. Despite some of our wish that our owners would spend heavily, there are some benefits to not having gone too far out on a limb (beyond what we already were, when they took over) And have to wonder how Mittal losing 16 billion or more impacts on his football interests - Ditto our supposed Kingfisher sponsorship, which we'll still waiting to hear announced.
Top clubs sweat on bank debts
Matt Scott The Guardian, Tuesday October 14 2008
Two of England's Champions League clubs will be sweating over the implications of the "nationalisation" of high street banks yesterday, but others have even more to fear over their relationships with lenders.
Arsenal and Liverpool will be wondering who their personal bank manager will be after Royal Bank of Scotland was due to sell 60% of its own equity to the government. Between them the two clubs owe RBS-led consortiums more than £500m.
Stoke City's relationship is with HBOS, the other stricken bank to be propped up with billions of pounds in taxpayers' cash. But although the loans to football clubs on the banks' balance sheets might be considered "toxic" assets that might never mature, a spokesman for the Treasury offered assurances. "It is a commercial matter for the banks and building societies about their loans to football clubs," he said.
Liverpool's other major backer is Wachovia, which was sold to Wells Fargo 10 days ago. Fulham have had longer to assess their relationship with Fortis Bank, which was nationalised by the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg governments last month.
Bolton Wanderers have most to fear. Singer & Friedlander, the operation belonging to the collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing, is in administration. Bolton would now appear to be debtors to a huge list of creditors who are clamouring for their funds.
Manchester United's parent group is linked with JP Morgan while Aston Villa and Tottenham have relationships with HSBC, the one British bank unscathed by the crisis. The nine others show why it is called the Barclays Premier League....
Banking blues
Everton extended their overdraft facility with Barclays Bank by 20% to £30m last month, shortly before engaging the football dealmaker Keith Harris to find them a new owner. Although Everton do not expect borrowings against the facility to exceed £21m at the season's end - comfortably within the new limits - the move shows how reliant they are on the support of banks in a deteriorating financial climate. They must hope buyers will not be deterred by the latest handout. The £21m floats at 3% over bank rate, meaning service charges estimated at more than £1.5m a year. Everton are already committed to paying £2.8m a year to Prudential in interest on a securitisation struck in 2002. With the best-paid players, Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta, below, each picking up about £2m a year, the banks' interest bills are right up there with the club's biggest earners this season.
City show new faces
Manchester City have filed details at Companies House of a newly formed board, announcing the resignations of the five Thai directors - including Thaksin Shinawatra - last week. There has been a break with the past that even Thaksin did not effect following his takeover as Bernard Halford, the club secretary who had served them for more than three decades, parted company. The announcement confirms the appointment of Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak as chairman while Simon Pearce has also become a director. But most intriguing are the directorial appointments of the Greek shipping magnate, Victor Restis, and Marty L Edelman, a New York-based lawyer, as "strategic adviser".
www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/oct/14/stokecity-boltonwanderers
Top clubs sweat on bank debts
Matt Scott The Guardian, Tuesday October 14 2008
Two of England's Champions League clubs will be sweating over the implications of the "nationalisation" of high street banks yesterday, but others have even more to fear over their relationships with lenders.
Arsenal and Liverpool will be wondering who their personal bank manager will be after Royal Bank of Scotland was due to sell 60% of its own equity to the government. Between them the two clubs owe RBS-led consortiums more than £500m.
Stoke City's relationship is with HBOS, the other stricken bank to be propped up with billions of pounds in taxpayers' cash. But although the loans to football clubs on the banks' balance sheets might be considered "toxic" assets that might never mature, a spokesman for the Treasury offered assurances. "It is a commercial matter for the banks and building societies about their loans to football clubs," he said.
Liverpool's other major backer is Wachovia, which was sold to Wells Fargo 10 days ago. Fulham have had longer to assess their relationship with Fortis Bank, which was nationalised by the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg governments last month.
Bolton Wanderers have most to fear. Singer & Friedlander, the operation belonging to the collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing, is in administration. Bolton would now appear to be debtors to a huge list of creditors who are clamouring for their funds.
Manchester United's parent group is linked with JP Morgan while Aston Villa and Tottenham have relationships with HSBC, the one British bank unscathed by the crisis. The nine others show why it is called the Barclays Premier League....
Banking blues
Everton extended their overdraft facility with Barclays Bank by 20% to £30m last month, shortly before engaging the football dealmaker Keith Harris to find them a new owner. Although Everton do not expect borrowings against the facility to exceed £21m at the season's end - comfortably within the new limits - the move shows how reliant they are on the support of banks in a deteriorating financial climate. They must hope buyers will not be deterred by the latest handout. The £21m floats at 3% over bank rate, meaning service charges estimated at more than £1.5m a year. Everton are already committed to paying £2.8m a year to Prudential in interest on a securitisation struck in 2002. With the best-paid players, Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta, below, each picking up about £2m a year, the banks' interest bills are right up there with the club's biggest earners this season.
City show new faces
Manchester City have filed details at Companies House of a newly formed board, announcing the resignations of the five Thai directors - including Thaksin Shinawatra - last week. There has been a break with the past that even Thaksin did not effect following his takeover as Bernard Halford, the club secretary who had served them for more than three decades, parted company. The announcement confirms the appointment of Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak as chairman while Simon Pearce has also become a director. But most intriguing are the directorial appointments of the Greek shipping magnate, Victor Restis, and Marty L Edelman, a New York-based lawyer, as "strategic adviser".
www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/oct/14/stokecity-boltonwanderers
