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Brentford are not just facing a battle to escape relegation from League 1, but also to stay in business. They may have to increase their borrowing to £9m which is a very large sum for a relatively small club. Director Joe Bourke commented: 'We are fighting to keep afloat. It is a real battle for survival and it is going to be a real struggle for us. We have three weeks to pay £250,000 of the £1.25m loaned to the club by former chairman Ron Noades' company Altonwood following the sale of their majority shareholding in Brentford for £1 to supporters trust Bees United last January. The £250,000 is due on January 20 and we have not decided yet whether to pay it from existing debt facilities or possible refinancing from a supporter.'
Accounts show a loss of £517,309 for the year ending 31 May 2006, but without transfer income it would have been £1.1m. That means the club were suffering an operating loss of £22,000 a week. The remaining £1m owed to Altonwood must be paid by January 20, 2009. At that time Bees United are also due to repay £500,000 to individual investors who provided the money for the supporters trust to lend to the football club. In the meantime, Bees United is using monthly standing order contributions from supporters to repay a £250,000 loan from Barclays Bank at a rate of £50,000 a year over five years.
The long-term strategy is to find a new stadium, but that is not easy in West London where land is at a premium. Moreover, Brentford face plenty of competition in their catchment area from other nearby clubs including Chelsea, Fulham and Queen's Park Rangers.
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