Bury Football Club has said the £1m loan taken out by its owner’s company and secured on the Gigg Lane ground at 138% annual interest will be repaid within the next few weeks.
The club’s statement, made in response to the Guardian’s report of the loan taken out by property developer Stewart Day’s company, SG Sports Management Limited, also said Day has personally guaranteed the interest, which is charged at 10% per month.
Bury’s statement said the £1m loan is not guaranteed by the club itself, although Companies House documents state it is, as well as being secured on the ground.
Explaining the deal, Bury said the loan was taken out as part of “a property transaction” which allowed the club to earn “revenue streams over a period of six months secured on another asset”. No further details of this transaction were provided but the club said it needed to make non-football income.
“In any business you must justify a legal transaction to warrant earned income and as such at times some calculated risk needs to take place,” the statement said.
Bury said they had not responded to the Guardian’s questions about the £1m loan, 138% annual interest rate and the club’s financial position because “they felt the matters were private to the club and not a point of public interest or indeed concern”.
