Interest cut in West Ham shareholder loans

West Ham shareholders David Gold and David Sullivan have cut the amount of interest they charge on shareholder loans from an average of 6-7% to 4%.  There is an outstanding balance of £45m of shareholder loans which date back to 2011.

A senior source told Claret and Hugh “At the new rate of 4%, the shareholders charge the lowest amount they thought HMRC would accept as a commercial rate. They felt, due to drop in base rate that 4% was acceptable. The third party overdraft loan is a much higher rate of 6.5% plus a 0.5% annual facility fee.”

The shareholder loans of £45m plus interest are due to be paid back in January 2020 while the £50m credit facility from Media rights and Funding is due to be paid back at the end of this season. West Ham have drawn down £25m of the credit facility so far attracting the 6.5% interest from the time it was received while 0.5% is charged on the full £50m available to them.