Arsenal borrow £120 million Covid loan from government scheme

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Arsenal have confirmed they have borrowed £120 million as part of a Bank of England Covid loan scheme.

The scheme is designed to support significant businesses experiencing cash flow problems during the pandemic.

The club was criticised last year after announcing 55 redundancies “to take the club forwards”, and the Gunners have now confirmed the “short-term solution” to their financial difficulties.

A club statement read: "As we continue to work through the implications of the global pandemic on our finances, we can confirm today that the club has met the criteria set by the Bank of England for the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).

As a result, we are taking a short-term £120 million loan through this facility to partially assist in managing the impact of the revenue losses attributable to the pandemic. This is a similar approach to that taken by a wide variety of major organisations across many industries including sport, and is repayable in May 2021.

"The CCFF is designed to provide short-term finance at commercial rates during the pandemic to companies that have strong investment ratings and which make significant contributions to the British economy.

"The CCFF is in addition to the loan provided by our owners Kroenke, Sports & Entertainment that enabled us to refinance the debt on Emirates Stadium in August last year."