Keith Harris, the chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, and a key intermediary in football takeovers, believes that the American owners of Liverpool could be forced to sell leading players if they are unable to pay off the club’s £350m debt. Although George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks have an option to extend the 25 January deadline for repaying the loan by six months, it is far from certain that an extension will be granted.
Keith Harris, the chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, and a key intermediary in football takeovers, believes that the American owners of Liverpool could be forced to sell leading players if they are unable to pay off the club’s £350m debt. Although George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks have an option to extend the 25 January deadline for repaying the loan by six months, it is far from certain that an extension will be granted. Their main lenders, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Wachovia are two of the banks worst hit by the global economic crisis. With the Government holding a 60 per cent stake in RBS, MPs have piled in and lobbied Gordon Brown to prevent the bank from giving the Americans extra time to repay the loan. It does not seem that the Americans can fund the much needed new stadium. The best way forward might to be take the £500m offer to buy the club from Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai.
Harris also said that he was struggling to find a credible buyer for Everton in the face of the economic downturn. He commented, ‘The demographics of Liverpool as an area are not hugely compelling. It is not a very wealthy city and Everton share the city with another club which has been in the vanguard for the last decade. They both have a stadium to build, so the economics need a lot of looking at, whereas Newcastle is a one-club city with a fabulous stadium.’ Harris implied that the two Merseyside clubs should share a new stadium, but this continental model does not find favour with English fans, especially those in Liverpool. The identity of clubs is closely bound up with their stadium. Many have moved into new ones, but it has not always brought footballing success, as the examples of Leicester and Southampton testify.