Reports from the recent bloggers meeting which suggested that West Ham has £50m of debt have been taken slightly out of context so here is an update on the Hammers finances in relation to outstanding debt.
West Ham cleared all external bank debt when they moved to the London Stadium last Summer but the Hammers do have a £50m credit facility from a company called Media rights and funding. The short-term loan secured against the training grounds and shop/stadium leases. This loan acts as an overdraft to help with cash flow for the club.
The Hammers have drawn down £25m so far and will probably have to draw down another £15m before the end of the season. The club pays 6.25% in interest for the money they draw down but they pay all money back including interest at the end of every season and arrange a new credit facility again going forward to the next season.
Outside of the overdraft facility, the club has £45m is shareholder loans dating back to 2011 which are due for repayment in January 2020. The interest on these loans has been reduced to average out at 4.25%.
Financial accounts for last season which should be published early next year are expected to show a record turnover of over £180m with a record wage bill close to £95m.
What we need is a bit of common Sense when negotiating players contracts we should have performance & injury clauses in them ie if your injured you get half pay, ( this would have saved the club a fortune re Carroll ) & if you are not performing & are dropped again half pay, these would go some way to offset all the benefits the players get but I cannot see the big clubs going for it because they have all the money & can buy their way to the top
Tottenham apparently have a wage structure similar to what you describe Claret, not sure about the sick pay part but you get generous performance bonuses for a whole host of criteria, at least that is what i saw reported somewhere. As for our finances if we have £50m liguid cash hopefully it will all be spent in the January window 😀
Record wage bill simply shows why Sullivan should not be de facto Director of Football. He’s thrown silly wages at so many players, Antonio, Ogbonna, Snodgrass, Fonte, Arnautović, Reid to name but a few!
All of the extra TV income has been wasted with minimal improvement in the strength and depth of the squad!
This will continue until we get a genuine Director of Football, not a Chairman who should stick to Championship Manager!