Finance guru rubbishes ‘horrible’ Chelsea claim amid £500m debt reveal
It is a perfectly valid business plan to raise debt to fund growth and not the “horrible” state of affairs that some Chelsea detractors might claim.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the new regime’s financial plan of action at Stamford Bridge.
A consortium fronted by American billionaire Todd Boehly completed a £4.25billlion takeover of Chelsea in May.
The Financial Times reported last Thursday (21 July) that the group has raised debt at the club by £800million with a £500m term loan and £300m revolving credit facility.
Plumley explained the merits of the West London club’s blueprints to fund their “expansion plans”.
“It’s a legitimate way to raise finance and it happens a lot in finance,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Often, people look at debt as a horrible thing, but it’s not. You need to raise debt at certain points to fund expansion plans. It’s not being able to pay that is the problem, but the terms look quite favourable here.
“You’ve got this revolving credit facility that, from what I can see, looks quite good. The rest of the money will potentially go towards the stadium and was part of the takeover bid. It stacks up with that.
“The owners and the consortium were always going to strike deals like this to raise finance. It looks like it can be spent on anything. There are a lot of positives to this.”
In other news, pundit backs Chelsea to sign “different level” Antonio Rudiger replacement after journalist’s update.