Skip to content
Sheffield United make financial move amid takeover interest and investment talk
Sheffield United have moved to simplify their financial picture by undertaking a credit restructuring exercise. The club had previously taken out a number of loans from banks Emirates and Macquarie over the past two years that were secured against their parachute payments, as well as the transfer fee they were due to receive from Arsenal for Aaron Ramsdale.
Companies House this morning published an update informing there had been seven ‘satisfaction of charges’ made to these two banks. Five of those were to the Australian bank Macquarie.
They act in a similar way to a ‘payday loan’. Premier League parachute payments are staggered over three seasons, while the money for Ramsdale is also paid in instalments.
With the cashflow problems at Sheffield United well documented over the past 12 months, the loans were seen as a way of advancing the money they were owed and secured against these guaranteed income streams. However, instead of having more than one and various financial obligations, the club has restructured these, but it is not completely debt free in this respect.
READ MORE: Conor Coady to Sheffield United: Nottingham Forest enter race, transfer value and Wolves future
There had been some suggestions that the update reflected Premier League money arriving, or that it could be in some way connected to a possible takeover, or even an indication that investment has been secured. Yorkshire Live can confirm it is none of those.
United are not yet in receipt of their first Premier League instalment and it is not takeover or investment related. However, the move will make the club a slightly more attractive proposition to potential investors, who much prefer a tidy and clear set of accounts to assess.
Prince Abdullah is looking to sell the club or secure outside investment. It looked like a sale was on the cards at one point, with Nigerian entrepreneur Dozy Mmobuosi having a bid accepted but that has now stalled due to a lack of progress on his part.
The Blades owner has been forced to consider other options and there has been interest from two parties from the US. A consortium from the Silicon Valley area of America and investment firm 777 Partners, who had seen a previous attempt to purchase Everton fail, have been credited with looking at United as a possible option.
However, there is no noise at the minute that a takeover is close and that anything has been agreed.
