Tory minister Stuart Andrew responds when Guochuan Lai loans at West Brom raised in UK Parliament
West Brom East MP Nicola Richards has raised the club’s off-field issues in parliament and urged the Government to introduce a regulator to give fans the power to stop owners from “abusing” club assets.
The Tory MP has been working closely with shareholders for Albion over owner Guochuan Lai who has missed repeated loan repayment schedules.
Lai, who doesn’t bother to communicate with the Albion fans, has missed two deadlines on a £4.95 million loan taken from the club.
On top of it, the Baggies had secured a £20 million loan from MSD Holdings to fund the daily basis running costs.
She has raised the concern in the Parliament and Cabinet Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society, Stuart Andrew MP congratulated her for her work, saying the Government will soon be setting out plans for reform in football.
“I want to congratulate the member for her work in this area and the support of her local club, and working with groups like Action for Albion and Shareholders for Albion,” said Andrew, as quoted by Express and Star.
“We will set out plans for reform in a white paper to be published in the next few weeks, the white paper will include strong action on owners and directors to ensure they are suitable custodians for clubs, and to avoid harm to fans and local communities like she has described.”
Needed
On the pitch, Carlos Corberan is trying his best to take West Brom back to where they belong, the off-the-pitch situations are messy at the moment.
The decision to secure four-year loan against all of their assets which will be used to finance the general business operations of the football club could backfire and the Baggies could be in deep trouble if they don’t secure promotion to the Premier League in the next two years.
Albion CEO Ron Gourlay assured the fans that the £20 loan should be seen as a safety net if the club don’t get promoted [The Atheltic].
However, Gourlay can’t do anything here. He can only convey the fans’ frustration to Lai.
Many had expected that Lai would pay that amount in time, and it could have been a huge financial boost for the club.
The club could have given Corberan the funds to operate in the January market and buy one or two players of his choice.
It’s good to see the MPs are concerned about how the club is run at the moment by Lai.
In other West Brom news, the club have appointed a new scout as part of the backroom staff.