West Ham to pay back £25m in loans
The latest published financial accounts confirm the club borrowed £6m on 15th August later borrowing a further £19m 3 days later on 18th August. The money borrowed was secured against the training grounds plus the shop and stadium leases to help fund cash flow last year but it must be paid in full before the end of July.
The ambitious transfer plans under Manuel Pellegrini will see a further and much larger strain on the club’s cash flow position this summer and we shouldn’t be surprised if West Ham enters yet another short-term loan with Media Rights and Funding secured against club assets for a far greater amount to plug the gap in any shortfall in cash.
Media Rights and Funding are thought to be ultimately backed by Michael Tabor, who once tried to buy the Hammers. The 76-year-old was born in Newham and educated at East Ham Grammar school. According to a book called Football’s Secret Trade, Tabor has loaned considerable sums to West Ham as well as Everton, Southampton, Fulham and Reading over the years through the Vibrac Corporation based in the British Virgin Islands.