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Forest take out £80m loan

Apollo Management has lent £80mn to Nottingham Forest Football Club in expensive debt to allow it to pay off other liabilities, in the private capital firm’s first known foray into English Premier League football, reports the Financial Times.

The US group in December provided a three-year term loan at an annual interest rate of 8.75 per cent, according to corporate filings. Some £55mn of the proceeds have been used to refinance an existing facility owed to Rights and Media Funding Group, a lender that has in the past provided financing to premier league club Everton, while the remaining £25mn is additional working capital.

Apollo’s loan — secured on assets including Nottingham Forest’s stadium — is an example of a growing trend in which big US private capital groups offer high-interest debt to European football clubs in need of cash. Clubs including premier league peer Chelsea and France’s Olympique Lyon have also borrowed from US-based private credit lenders.

Nottingham Forest’s City Ground stadium is due to undergo a redevelopment that will involve one of its stands being demolished and replaced, increasing the overall capacity to 35,000.

Nottingham Forest, owned by Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis, last year made an operating loss of £73mn, although player sales worth more than £100mn led to an overall profit of £12.1mn.

During the 2023-2024 Premier League season the club was deducted four points and dropped into the Premier League’s relegation zone after it breached a “profit and sustainability” loss threshold. The club’s finances are set for a boost this year after it qualified for the Europa League, Europe’s second most prestigious club competition. Forest, which finished seventh in the league last season, has been granted a place due to Crystal Palace’s exclusion from the tournament.

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