Barclays intervenes at Liverpool

The sponsor of the Premier League, Barclays Bank, has intervened in the financial crisis at Liverpool.  It will loan the club £300m and replace the current providers of funding, RSB and Wachovia.  With a new chairman installed, it will then make a serious effort to find a purchaser for the club.  Barclays Capital will take charge of the search for a new owner.

The sponsor of the Premier League, Barclays Bank, has intervened in the financial crisis at Liverpool.  It will loan the club £300m and replace the current providers of funding, RSB and Wachovia.  With a new chairman installed, it will then make a serious effort to find a purchaser for the club.  Barclays Capital will take charge of the search for a new owner.


Liverpool badly needs new investment.   Two years ago their wage bill was estimated to be £10m behind Arsenal, £30m behind Manchester United and £80m behind Chelsea.   That gap has certainly widened and Spurs are catching up fast.


A major obstacle to a sale has been the asking price demanded by the owners.   In earlier negotiations they have been looking for a price in the region of £500m, but Deloitte think that a realistic price would be around £295m.