Spurs disclose net debt of £366 million as Wembley stay is extended

By David Owen

October 29 – Tottenham Hotspur, the north London club still waiting to move into a new stadium nearing completion adjacent to its traditional White Hart Lane ground, has disclosed that net debt had reached a sizeable £366 million by the end of its latest financial year on June 30.

In a statement offering a selective financial update months ahead of when it would usually release year-end figures, the club also announced record revenues for 2017-18 of £381 million, up from £306.3 million (and just £209.8 million in 2015-16).

It also said that profit from operations before football trading, depreciation, interest, tax and exceptional items totalled £163 million. It served notice, however, that “trading for the current year” – 2018-19 – would be “impacted by the additional costs of Wembley and the delay to the opening of the new stadium”.

All of this was included in the same club statement in which chairman Daniel Levy told fans that all home games up to and including a clash on December 29 with impressive Premier League new boys Wolves would now be played at Wembley.

In its 2016-17 accounts filed in April, the club said it had “cash, net of all borrowing of £14.6 million”. Note 15 disclosed a £400 million bank loan entered into not long before its June 30 year-end, to build the new stadium. This was said to be repayable in May 2022. At the balance-sheet date just under £152.5 million was drawn.

In the latest statement, the club said that facilities investment had “resulted in total gross tangible assets at 30 June, 2018, in excess of £1 billion”. The end-June 2017 consolidated balance-sheet gave a figure for total assets of £840.7 million.

It said that investments had been financed by “funds from the club and bank finance”, principally a “development facility of up to £637 million”. The club would be working to convert this facility, “which currently expires in April 2022”, into “notes with a mixture of debt maturities. The residual amount of gross debt to be converted or extinguished will depend on a number of factors including several commercial discussions.”

The statement reiterated that Spurs had recently secured an extended agreement with Nike up to 2033, as well as announcing a number of new brand partners. The audited accounts, when they emerge, promise to make interesting reading.

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