Tottenham borrow £175m from Government’s coronavirus loan scheme

Tottenham Hotspur have taken out a taxpayer-backed loan from the Government after fears of losing £200 million in the next year.

Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, has borrowed £175 million from the Covid Corporate Financing Facility to cover the impact of the coronavirus pandemic closing football's doors to fans.

Spurs’s new stadium opened last season and generates millions from home matches, hosted NFL games and had a Guns N’ Roses concert scheduled before the spread of Covid-19. Premier League clubs are also set to pay a rebate to broadcasters for matches being played behind closed doors.

Levy was paid a £3 million bonus for completing the club’s new stadium but will not be allowed to receive a dividend should the loan last more than a year. Bank of England guidelines state companies “will be expected to provide a letter addressed to HM Treasury that commits to showing restraint on the payment of dividends and other capital distributions and on senior pay.”

“Due to the significance of income from matchday, conferencing and third party live events such as concerts and other sports, our estimated revenue loss, including broadcast rebates, may exceed £200m for the period to June, 2021,” read a statement from Tottenham.

Jose Mourinho will not be using the money to buy players when the transfer market opens. Levy issued a stark warning when the Premier League was suspended, insisting that instead of discussing transfers football needed to “wake up to the enormity” of the pandemic.

He reversed his decision to use the Government's furlough scheme for some employees during the coronavirus crisis, following criticism from supporters.

“We have always run this Club on a self-sustaining commercial basis,” Levy said. “I said as early as March 18 that, in all my 20 years at the Club, there have been many hurdles along the way but none of this magnitude – the Covid-19 pandemic has shown itself to be the most serious of them all.

“It is imperative that we now all work together – scientists, technologists, the Government and the live events sector – to find a safe way to bring spectators back to sport and entertainment venues. Collectively we have the ability to support the development of new technologies to make this possible and to once again experience the passion of fans at live events.”