Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has recently discussed supposed funds that Crystal Palace had to redevelop their main stand.
In December 2017, Steve Parish claimed that funds for the upcoming transfer window at the time were ring-fenced and would not be affected by the club’s plans to redevelop their main stand (per The Guardian).
The plan for the redevelopment of the main stand at Selhurst Park was touted to be costing the club a whopping £100m.
However, a report from The Athletic earlier this year revealed that it had been two years since Palace had been granted planning permission for the project, but they were ‘some way off’ purchasing the houses surrounding the stadium.
So, in the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed whether or not the Eagles indeed had money set aside for the £100m project that was visible in their accounts.
He said: “I’ve taken a look at four sets of accounts because, as we know, in modern football, it’s all a little bit messy.
“So, there’s Palace Holdco, Palace Midco, CPFC 2010 Limited and CPFC Selhurst Park, and I can’t see anything which specifically ring-fences any money.
“If we take a look at the main holding company, Palace Holdco, it’s got creditors of £160m, of which £60m is due to the owners. Now, it doesn’t say that that money is owed to the owners and it can only be spent on particular activities.
“So, it could be that it’s a gentleman’s agreement, but if that money has been effectively set aside, you’d expect to see it come through in the cash balances and I can only see £12m in the bank at the end of June 2019.
“So, I’m not saying it’s not the case, but I was struggling to find it and I had a bit of trawl through the various club accounts when this story came up.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the finance expert had to say, he does not believe that the money for the redevelopment of the stand is visible in Palace’s accounts on Companies House.
Are you worried about where the money will come from for the redevelopment of the main stand?
No, it'll turn up somewhere
Yes, it seems a bit iffy
So, with The Athletic having stated that ‘promising’ negotiations were taking place in April, although there was still a ‘substantial hurdle’, it will certainly be interesting to see how the plans develop.