Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock stadium safe if relegated with secret £300m funder ‘lined up’
The Bramley-Moore Dock stadium development is safe even if Everton are relegated from the Premier League, Liverpool Business News reports.
With Frank Lampard’s side currently sitting just three points above the relegation zone, there have been fears for the construction project should the club drop into the Championship, amid the financial blow that would entail.
But with the recent deal with developer Laing O’Rourke set to keep the build to the intended £500million price despite rising costs, and over £100million already accounted for, the club reportedly has found a source for the vast majority of the rest.
In a special report for Liverpool Business News, Tony McDonough writes: “LBN understands that even if the unthinkable happened and Everton did fall through the relegation trap door, the stadium will still go ahead.
“More than £100m has already been ploughed into the project from majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, from public sector funding and from a naming rights ‘first refusal’ agreement.
“Everton is now on the verge of securing around £300m in senior debt (this is debt from a lender that would take priority over other creditors in the event of administration or liquidation). Although being kept under wraps, a specific funder has already been lined up.
“So adding Mr Moshiri’s £100m to the £30m naming rights cash [from Alisher Usmanov] and the £15m [grant] from the Combined Authority, that still leaves Everton with more than £300m to find.
“However, behind the scenes the club is confident the funder it has lined up will sign on the dotted line, regardless of the fortunes of the team on the pitch.”
Safeguards
Considering the mess that the playing squad has become, and the concerning state of the club’s overall finances following the latest accounts, the management of the stadium project seems serene in contrast.
Moshiri, for all his faults, doesn’t appear to be afraid of spending money, and a state-of-the-art stadium should be a better investment than some of the players he has signed.
Cutting ties with Usmanov following the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant there will be no more funding from him, but it is believed the £30million towards this project does not have to be returned.
The only question now is who the funder that is apparently happy to provide the lions share of the rest is, and until they are revealed any celebrations should be put on hold.
That they are keeping so tight lipped may raise concerns over their suitability long-term, as whoever it is will eventually want returns on that debt.
Relegation will be a disaster for this club either way, but if it happens they will be much better equipped for an eventual revival if armed with a facility that can stage more than just Toffees matches.
It looks like that will be the case whatever happens, so for now it seems to be a positive development in a season where those have been scarce.
In other Everton news, the club are set to pay the council £350,000 as anger is rising over wasted public money.
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