Tottenham Take Out £175m Loan From Bank of England

Tottenham have taken out a £175m loan from the Bank of England to relieve the financial strain placed on the club following the coronavirus outbreak.

The pandemic is beginning to financially take its toll on the game, with club's across the football pyramid furloughing staff, players taking wage deferrals and transfer fees expected to be driven down.

Spurs were one of a handful of Premier League clubs to announce their plan to furlough non-playing staff in a bid to balance the books, but reversed the decision two weeks later after heavy criticism.

According to the Athletic, Spurs have borrowed £175m from the Bank of England after qualifying for the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).

The CCFF is a government scheme set up to aid large, corporate businesses affected by the coronavirus in order to ease cash flow pressures.

Successfully applying for the scheme came with a stringent criteria, with firms required to have an investment grade credit rating - meaning they have the capacity to meet financial commitments - in addition to making a material contribution to the UK economy.

Along with Spurs, the Athletic report that Manchester United would be the only other Premier League club who could meet the CCFF criteria. The Red Devils recently took out a £140m loan from their revolving credit facility.

The loan comes with a low commercial interest rate, and Spurs will have to repay it in April 2021, unless they re-draw it for a further 12 months.

Unlike Manchester United's recent loan withdrawal, Spurs' loan will not be spent on transfers. The club are unlikely to be able to afford to dip into the transfer market during the summer unless players are sold.

Although not used for transfers, the money will offer Spurs financial stability, with the club predicting they could lose up to £200m in revenue during lockdown.