Spurs take out £175M loan to cover pandemic-related losses
Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.
Tottenham Hotspur have taken out a low-interest, £175-million loan from the Bank of England to gain financial flexibility during the coronavirus pandemic.
The money won't be used to fund any transfers, Spurs said in a statement Thursday, with the club facing losses of more than £200 million due to the lockdown in place across the United Kingdom.
Spurs must repay the loan in full at a rate of just 0.5% in April 2021, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein and Jack Pitt-Brooke.
Spurs and Manchester United are the only two Premier League clubs eligible for the government's COVID Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF), Ornstein and Pitt-Brooke add. The mechanism provides unsecured loans to companies with the highest possible credit rating. The government has reportedly handed out £20 billion in loans to around 100 companies during the health crisis.
Despite posting a pre-tax profit of £87.4 million last season, Tottenham have bled money in recent months. Though members of the board agreed to take pay cuts, the club has continued to pay players their full salaries. Spurs reversed a decision to use the government's furlough scheme - which covers up to 80% of workers' wages up to £2,500 - after widespread backlash.
Tottenham still have to pay off £525 million in debts related to the construction of their new stadium, but a lack of revenue streams has made that difficult. The country's ban on mass gatherings means Spurs can't rely on matchday revenue from any of their five remaining Premier League home matches.
Spurs had also expected to generate revenue from non-sporting events held at their new stadium. All events on the schedule, including NFL games, concerts, and rugby, have been canceled.
The Premier League, which has been on hiatus since March 13, is set to return June 17.