December 9 – Real Madrid has agreed a €225 million loan extension to complete the Santiago Bernabéu remodelling. The club said the loan was required work “not forseen” in the initial plans.
The loan comes on top of the initial borrowing of €575m for the stadium project, secured in April 2019 via a consortium of lenders led by J.P Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
That loan is being repaid over a 30-year period, with a fixed interest rate of 2.5%, costing about €29.5 million a year with the first three annual payments having been deferred.
The same lenders are providing the new loan which is for 27 years and ties into the same term end of July 2049, but is cheaper with a fixed interest rate of 1.53%.
A club statement said: “These conditions are the best ever obtained for long-term financing in the sport industry. The loan also includes a grace period for the repayment of the principal, so that Real Madrid will not start repaying the loan until 30 July 2024.”
The loan will fund the construction of an underground greenhouse that will be used to maintain the condition of the retractable pitch planned. This will keep the playing surface in optimal condition while still allowing the stadium to be used for other events.
“It should be remarked that Real Madrid has closed this transaction without any type of mortgage guarantee nor any financial limitation which might affect the ordinary management of the club,” said the club statement.
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