Arsenal takes $ 163 million short-term loan from government to deal with impact of COVID-19-Sports News, Firstpost
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In August last year, the Gunners announced their intention to lay off 55 positions in their staff due to the financial crisis north London had suffered as a result of COVID-19.
Representative image. AFP
London: Arsenal have taken out a short-term loan of £ 120million ($ 163million, € 133million) from the UK government to help them cope with the impact of the crisis. coronavirus
pandemic, the Premier League club announced on Thursday.
In August last year, the Gunners announced plans to cut 55 staff positions due to the financial blow north London had suffered as a result of COVID-19[female[feminine .
By this point, most of the club’s players had agreed to a 12.5% pay cut from their largely lucrative salaries in a bid to help other Arsenal staff keep their jobs.
On Thursday, the club confirmed that they are using a program from the Bank of England, the national central bank, to boost their income at a time when games at their Emirates Stadium are once again being played behind closed doors amid a new nationwide lockdown.
“As we continue to work on the implications of the global pandemic on our finances, we can confirm today that the club has met the criteria set by the Bank of England for the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF),” said said an Arsenal statement.
“As a result, we are taking out a short-term loan of £ 120million through this facility to partially help manage the impact of lost income due to the pandemic.
“This is a similar approach to that taken by a wide variety of major organizations across many industries, including sports, and is reimbursable in May 2021.
“The CCFF is designed to provide short-term finance at commercial rates during the pandemic to companies with good investment ratings and which contribute significantly to the UK economy.”
Arsenal’s statement added that the loan was in addition to the additional financial support the club was receiving from owner Stan Kroenke, a sports entrepreneur based in the United States.
“The CCFF is in addition to the loan from our owners Kroenke, Sports & Entertainment which allowed us to refinance the debt of Emirates Stadium last August.”
Arsenal’s spending on transfer fees and salaries in recent months has come under fire in light of layoffs made for non-playing staff.
Londoners shelled out £ 45million ($ 58million) on the transfer deadline day in October for Thomas Partey and offered lucrative three-year contracts to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian.
Arsenal have been hit financially by failing to qualify for the Champions League for four consecutive seasons.
Mikel Arteta’s men are currently in 11th place in the Premier League, six points behind the top four.
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