"New Loan Pushes ABC Out of the Picture"

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Ealing Gazette - New loan pushes ABC out of the picture

QPR have averted the prospect of ABC Corporation acquiring their Loftus Road ground, the club have confirmed.

ABC had the option to take ownership of the stadium if a £10m loan they made to the club’s holding company in 2002 was not repaid in full by the end of last month.

A recent letter to shareholders explained that the debt was paid by securing another £10m loan from a different company, Amulya Property Ltd, who now have a similar option to acquire the stadium in two years’ time if they are not repaid.

The interest rate on the new loan is 8.5% and Amulya has links with both Rangers’ co-owner Flavio Briatore and QPR holdings vice-chairman Amit Bhatia, whose father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal bought a 20% stake in the club last year.

The ABC loan has posed a threat to the club’s future for some time and the interest payments of nearly 11% were a major financial burden.

The loan was arranged so Rangers could come out of administration by making a payment to former owner Chris Wright, who was then a major creditor having made a series of directors’ loans during his tenure.

It also left the club with significant working capital which was used to fund the squad that won promotion from the Second Division two years later.

"The ABC loan has been of great concern to QPR fans, and has been a noose around the neck of this football club for far too long," Briatore told QPR’s website.

"I am delighted that we have now made arrangements to put this saga to an end." Ealing Gazette


Also: "ABC Loan - QPR Official Statement: "Repaid in Full" (New Loan?)"