Christian Purslow, the managing director of English soccer club Liverpool FC, has revealed that the banks with which the club hopes to secure financing for a new stadium will only deal with the club if new investment can be attracted.
Liverpool's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, are keen to sell a stake in the club, in what Purslow says "could be part ownership or it could be complete ownership". Either way, it appears that the club's plan to build a new stadium and move from its current home of Anfield has no chance of success while Hicks and Gillett remain the two co-owners of the club.
"Late last year, the bank market was essentially shut," said Purslow. "It's now very much open for business and a number of banks are very interested in financing our new stadium. However, a condition of all those banks' interest is that in the first instance, we have brought new investment into the club. So I see it as a two step process - new investment in the next couple of months which reduces our existing debt to a very low level, to enable us then to push on with discussions with banks about financing the stadium."
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Purslow, whose time at Liverpool has been marked with some significant off-field success, including a record shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered that will begin in the summer, is confident that the team's on-pitch struggles would be a thing of the past in a new ground. "It's that stadium which holds the key to us transforming our fortunes both economically and in football terms," he added.
"The stadium is absolutely central to the club's strategic development because with a new stadium comes a transformation in the financial resources of Liverpool that can be ploughed back into the core of our activity - which is our playing squad."
Liverpool hope to build the new ground close to Anfield, the club's current home, in the city's Stanley Park.
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Liverpool's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, are keen to sell a stake in the club, in what Purslow says "could be part ownership or it could be complete ownership". Either way, it appears that the club's plan to build a new stadium and move from its current home of Anfield has no chance of success while Hicks and Gillett remain the two co-owners of the club.
"Late last year, the bank market was essentially shut," said Purslow. "It's now very much open for business and a number of banks are very interested in financing our new stadium. However, a condition of all those banks' interest is that in the first instance, we have brought new investment into the club. So I see it as a two step process - new investment in the next couple of months which reduces our existing debt to a very low level, to enable us then to push on with discussions with banks about financing the stadium."
Liverpool FC confirm stadium naming rights would be sold
Benitez admits he could be forced to sell Gerrard and Torres
Purslow, whose time at Liverpool has been marked with some significant off-field success, including a record shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered that will begin in the summer, is confident that the team's on-pitch struggles would be a thing of the past in a new ground. "It's that stadium which holds the key to us transforming our fortunes both economically and in football terms," he added.
"The stadium is absolutely central to the club's strategic development because with a new stadium comes a transformation in the financial resources of Liverpool that can be ploughed back into the core of our activity - which is our playing squad."
Liverpool hope to build the new ground close to Anfield, the club's current home, in the city's Stanley Park.
LINK
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