Kieran Maguire: Guochuan Lai using West Brom as a ‘piggybank’ amid ‘£80m’ reveal
Guochuan Lai is able to use West Brom as a “piggybank” because of how well run they have been in years gone by.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Baggies’ recently-released full accounts.
The document, which was filed with Companies House on Thursday (7 July), shows that Albion made a profit of £100,000 for 2020-21.
It also shows that the Hawthorns club were the only then-Premier League side to have no external debt.
Also detailed in the accounts is a £5million loan paid to Lai which is yet to be repaid and has a meagre interest rate of just £50,000.
Maguire claims that the fact that the Baggies made an £80m profit in their second most recent top-flight stretch has in part allowed the Chinese billionaire to do this.
“They were the only club in the Premier League to go down this route,” he told Football Insiders’s Adam Williams.
“I think it’s indicative that West Brom have for many years been self-sufficient. They were profitable.
“In the period in which they were in the Premier League, from 2011 to 2018, they made a profit of £80m over that period. So, they didn’t need to borrow cash.
“They were a club that lived within its means and kept its position in the Premier League. That is partly the reason they were attractive to investors.
“It’s a bit like the Burnley example with the leveraged buyout. The well-run club attracts people who want to take financial risks with the club.
“In the case of West Brom, it looks like the owners are using the club as a convenient piggybank.
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