West Brom shareholders vent ‘extreme disappointment’ as £5m Guochuan Lai loan still not repaid
West Brom shareholders have once again shared their “extreme disappointment” after it’s been revealed controlling club shareholder Guochuan Lai has still yet to repay his £5million loan.
The Times reported on 3 January that Lai had taken out a new high-interest £20 million loan, having missed the repayment deadline for the money he had borrowed for one of his other companies.
The Chinese owner had promised that the £4.95million loan he took out in March 2021, plus interest, will be paid back early in 2023 after already missing two repayment deadlines.
Such actions have led to much fury and unrest within the Baggies fanbase, with protest group Action for Albion leading a peaceful march against Lai following the club’s 2-0 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday.
And the club’s minority shareholders Shareholders for Albion (S4A) have once again declared their fury as Lai yet again fails to repay the club’s debts. Speaking via Express & Star [28 February], they said: “We continue to monitor developments on the financial side generally, taking action where required.
“For legal reasons, I cannot discuss that further at present.
“What I can say is that we are obviously extremely disappointed that the Wisdom Smart loan has still not been repaid.
“We have clearly passed ‘early in the New Year,’ so it appears that we have been lied to again by our majority shareholders.”
No trust
When a club owner promises they’ll do something in the interests of a major football club, they simply have to follow through and show their integrity or else their position comes under major scrutiny, and it is only right Lai’s continued incompetence comes under the microscope right now.
There really is no trust and confidence from the Baggies faithful and the club’s other shareholders in Lai’s ownership and something has seriously got to give because these failed loan repayments could jeopardise the club’s immediate future.
We’ve already seen what’s happened to clubs such as Derby County, Bury and Macclesfield Town who have suffered under the mismanagement and lack of competence from their respective owners.
The Baggies are certainly falling victim to similar troubles at this moment in time, and with Lai still failing to address these dreadful concerns or even to come out and admit why the loans haven’t been repaid, the scandal which acts as a cloud above Carlos Corberan’s head will continue.
What will that mean for their future in the Premier League, if they were to secure promotion this season?
In other West Brom news, the fans are demanding a meeting with the owner as questions about a £5m loan refuse to go away.