The owners of English Premier League club Liverpool have been given an extra six months to pay back a £350.5 million debt owed to lenders the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia.
According to a report in The Guardian newspaper, the loan, made last January, was due to be repaid or refinanced by January 25, but the banks agreed to extend this to July 24. The extension was granted following a written request from Kop Football, Liverpool’s holding company co-owned by Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The loan was originally taken out to cover the club’s running costs and also included a £60 million contribution to be spent on the construction of a new stadium.
It is hoped that, by July, the club will have qualified for the Champions League for the 2009-10 season, securing vital additional income for that period. The club is paying £30 million per year in interest on its loans.
The Guardian reports that RBS and Wachovia are likely to demand more interest be paid on the loan should it be renegotiated in July.
