3 Comments

Premier League outlaw West Ham’s pay day loans

new-premier-league-logo-2016-17-1The Premier League have called an end to money loaned against future TV money previously used by West Ham since 2013.

“The clubs have agreed a new rule which will mean that any assignments of central funds can only be made to Financial Conduct Authority-registered lenders,” a Premier League spokesman has confirmed.

In layman’s terms, that means the accepted practice of borrowing against TV income can only be conducted in conjunction with a company licensed to take deposits in the UK, essentially a bank.

Since 2013 West Ham have borrowed money against future TV income from the likes of Vibrac, Mousehole, JG funding and more recently Media Rights and Funding Ltd.  A book called Football’s Secret Trade by Alex Duff and Tariq Panja, published by Bloomberg earlier this year claims that West Ham fan Michael Tabor is behind all these Coolmore Taborcompanies as the ultimate lender. These lenders have also loaned considerable sums to Everton, Southampton, Fulham and Reading via the British Virgin Islands.Everton have moved away from these lenders last year deciding instead to borrow from the London branch of Commercial bank of China and a Barclays overdraft facility while Southampton moved lenders to the UK arm of Macquarie.

Everton have moved away from these lenders last year deciding instead to borrow from the London branch of Commercial bank of China and a Barclays overdraft facility while Southampton moved lenders to the UK arm of Macquarie.

Fulham who are not bound by the Premier League rules most recently borrowed from HEC Finance based in Hong Kong while Fulham ceased borrowing money offshore in 2013.

West Ham remain the only football club to continue borrowing from Rights and Media Funding Limited. Although the company is UK registered it is not a FCA registered lender therefore future TV income can no longer be used as security. The only directors listed are an Irish couple called Jonathan and Claire McMorrow who run a dance company called Mcmorrow Irish Dance in Leitrim, Ireland. Jonathan McMorrow was formally a dancer for Riverdance but became a Tax consultant for PWC in 2004 later joining James Grant Group as a director in 2008 until 2015.

Charges against the UK company at companies house show the company borrowed money from companies in the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man thought to be funded by Tarbor.

At the beginning of September West Ham borrowed again from Rights and Media Funding Limited with the loan secured against Rush Green training ground, Little Heath, Chadwell Heath, shop leases in Romford and Lakeside and the 99 lease for the London Stadium. These assets have been put down as security if West Ham defaults on its loan.

 

About Sean Whetstone

I am Season Ticket Holder in West stand lower at the London Stadium and before that, I used to stand in the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower Row R seat 159 in the Boleyn Ground and in the Eighties I stood on the terraces of the old South Bank. I am a presenter on the West Ham Podcast called MooreThanJustaPodcast.co.uk. A Blogger on WestHamTillIdie.com a member of the West Ham Supporters Advisory Board (SAB), Founder of a Youtube channel called Mr West Ham Football at http://www.youtube.com/MrWestHamFootball, I am also the associate editor here at Claret and Hugh. Life Long singer of bubbles! Come on you Irons! Follow me at @Westhamfootball on twitter

3 comments on “Premier League outlaw West Ham’s pay day loans

  1. Can someone please explain to me why WHU have a need for borrowings? The club must be cash rich from ticket sales, tv revenue, premier league place money etc. Our net transfer spend is miniscule in comparison. So why have we hocked everything of value for borrowings.

    • I am not an expert but going back to my old accounting days… you can stick your money in a bank and earn 2% interest and pay tax or you can invest that money in something else if it returns better than 2% and avoid tax. Going a step further… you can borrow money (as the above article) and invest it elsewhere if the returns are greater than the interest than you pay for borrowing it. Does that make sense?

      Bottom line is they use it to make more money and West Ham as a company legally avoid or reduce tax.

Comments are closed.