West Brom shares on the line at The Hawthorns with loan update
West Brom fans are understandably becoming more and more frustrated with the issues surrounding Guochuan Lai and the impending takeover of the club.
Taking a leaf out of Manchester United’s book with cries of “Glazers out”, The Hawthorns was filled with “stand up if you want Lai out” chants for a matter of minutes during the Baggies 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday 13 January.
In addition to the risk of more money being owed, shares in the club are now on the line as loan repayments are due this month [The Athletic].
Reporting for The Athletic [15 January], Steve Madeley wrote: “Three groups are thought to be squarely in the frame.
“One is led by Manchester-based lawyer Chris Farnell and Egyptian investor Mohamed Elkashashy and includes local businessman Alex Hearn, whose company, Warmfront, is owed £2m by Albion in a loan, due for repayment next month, which is secured against club shares.
“In the event of a takeover, Hearn is happy to convert that debt into equity.”
Best case scenario for West Brom
With Hearn happy to convert the debt into equity, it seems like the most straightforward option for the Baggies.
Despite that, US businessman Shilen Patel is currently the frontrunner to take over the club, and any due diligence will reveal payments that need to be made behind the scenes.
While this was encouraging news in the middle of January, there seems to be little update since which will be a worrying prospect with repayments needing to be made in the coming weeks.
Proven by the club’s official announcement in November, documenting a new loan being secured from MSD UK Holdings Limited to keep the club afloat, it is easy to see that the running of the club cannot remain this way.
Though it seems like a long way away from the likes of Bury and Macclesfield Town, and even Derby County’s recent monetary struggles in recent seasons, the fans will know the risk being posed by Lai sticking around for much longer.
In other West Brom news, Andi Weimann shone in his “perfect” moment against Birmingham.
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