UK credit agency Riskdisk has “suspended” credit ratings for 14 of the 20 English Premier League clubs, including title-chasing Chelsea, according to a report in London’s The Times newspaper.
Aston Villa, Liverpool, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers are the other clubs with a suspended rating.
Companies trading with the blacklisted clubs are advised to withdraw credit terms - but the rating only takes into account clubs’ publicly listed financial results, and only concerns the clubs’ operating companies, not their holding companies. Rob McLaughlin, the director of Riskdisk, said: “The ratings do not predict what a wealthy backer may do. They are based on information available from sources such as Companies House and from the courts. There is no assumption made that a shareholder may put more money in.”
In January, another credit firm, Experian, blacklisted eight clubs and placed five on its “financial critical” list, though it also suggested that Manchester United, Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers represented “good risks” for potential lenders.
The news comes in the week that European soccer’s governing body Uefa revealed the outline of its new “financial fair play” policy, aimed at protecting the game from the potentially crippling long-term effects of debt and limiting the inflationary influence of hyper-wealthy backers. Under the new terms, clubs will be expected to return to break-even figures via a staggered transition period. Losses will be expected not to exceed €15 million up to 2014 (€5 million over three seasons if not underwritten by club owners) and €10 million up to 2017. Uefa will reserve the right to exclude those clubs which fail to bring their finances under control from European competition. According to their most recently available accounts, fifteen Premier League clubs are currently operating at a loss.
Uefa inspectors will also be called in to investigate clubs where wages exceed 70 per cent of turnover, or where debt is in excess of annual revenue, in order to ascertain that such imbalances are sustainable. Clubs will no longer be allowed to harness debt other than to invest in infrastructural projects or to develop youth systems. Debt is an enormous problem in European football, particularly in the “big five” leagues: England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. According to figures released by Uefa as part of its European Footballing Landscape study, net debt across the continent - including so-called “soft loans” from benefactors - stands at around €7.7 billion.
Aston Villa, Liverpool, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers are the other clubs with a suspended rating.
Companies trading with the blacklisted clubs are advised to withdraw credit terms - but the rating only takes into account clubs’ publicly listed financial results, and only concerns the clubs’ operating companies, not their holding companies. Rob McLaughlin, the director of Riskdisk, said: “The ratings do not predict what a wealthy backer may do. They are based on information available from sources such as Companies House and from the courts. There is no assumption made that a shareholder may put more money in.”
In January, another credit firm, Experian, blacklisted eight clubs and placed five on its “financial critical” list, though it also suggested that Manchester United, Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers represented “good risks” for potential lenders.
The news comes in the week that European soccer’s governing body Uefa revealed the outline of its new “financial fair play” policy, aimed at protecting the game from the potentially crippling long-term effects of debt and limiting the inflationary influence of hyper-wealthy backers. Under the new terms, clubs will be expected to return to break-even figures via a staggered transition period. Losses will be expected not to exceed €15 million up to 2014 (€5 million over three seasons if not underwritten by club owners) and €10 million up to 2017. Uefa will reserve the right to exclude those clubs which fail to bring their finances under control from European competition. According to their most recently available accounts, fifteen Premier League clubs are currently operating at a loss.
Uefa inspectors will also be called in to investigate clubs where wages exceed 70 per cent of turnover, or where debt is in excess of annual revenue, in order to ascertain that such imbalances are sustainable. Clubs will no longer be allowed to harness debt other than to invest in infrastructural projects or to develop youth systems. Debt is an enormous problem in European football, particularly in the “big five” leagues: England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. According to figures released by Uefa as part of its European Footballing Landscape study, net debt across the continent - including so-called “soft loans” from benefactors - stands at around €7.7 billion.
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