Football finance expert explains Sheffield United ground mortgage

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Leading football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Sheffield United taking out a mortgage on their ground is no different to what Spurs and Manchester United have done.

The club announced last week that owner Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad had been successful in securing a number of assets from previous owner Kevin McCabe, including the Bramall Lane stadium, hotel and training ground.

That was part of a court order from last September when Prince Abdullah was awarded sole ownership and those assets are now back in the club’s name.

However, it was revealed on Monday that a mortgage with Emirates Bank has been taken out against the ground and those assets.

It is not uncommon for this to happen in football and makes perfect sense.

Prince Abdullah, although a member of the Saudi royal family, is not using his family’s wealth or State money to bankroll Sheffield United, unlike his cousin attempting to buy out Newcastle.

The Prince is using his own personal wealth secured from the sale of a successful paper business and has already contributed around £20million since his arrival in 2013.

Although the mortgage against the assets means that should United fail to meet the repayments the ground would become the property of the bank, the bigger picture is that the Prince has found a way to secure the funds needed to bring all the club’s assets back together under its own name once again.

Maguire is the authority when it comes to football finances and, speaking to Yorkshire Live, he says it is not uncommon for football clubs to take out mortgages against their ground or other assets.

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He said: “Prince Abdullah has had to fund that from some means, so he’s gone down the mortgage route. There’s no real difference to Tottenham Hotspur building their new stadium and that being funded by borrowing as well.

“So to a large extent it’s fairly standard for anybody spending a large amount of money on an asset.

“Manchester United owe £500m to the bank, which is secured against Old Trafford, but they have always made the repayments.

“It’s no different to anyone else taking out a mortgage on a property that has just been acquired.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/

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