The amount of interest West Brom are paying weekly after their MSD loans has now been revealed.
Thankfully for West Brom supporters, the club has a new owner in place.
Shilen Patel is the new man at the top and he’s wasted no time in mending club relations with supporters, showing his support at games and on social media too.
He brought an end to Guochuan Lai’s ownership, which was thwart with controversy.
Arguably the biggest controversy of Lai’s ownership was a £5million loan he took against the club to help with his personal business during the pandemic.
That loan, along with multiple loan from MSD Holdings UK to keep West Brom operating.
Latest on West Brom MSD loans
It’s recently been revealed that Lai’s last full season at The Hawthorns, the 2022/23 campaign, saw the Baggies record more than £11milion in losses.
Since, Patel has overseen the repayment of the near £5milion loan which Lai took against the club.
But West Brom are still left with £28million in loans from MSD Holdings UK, which Lai took out in two separate instalments; £20million in 2022 and then a further £8million earlier this season.
These are now being paid off by West Brom in instalments.
Staggering interest rates revealed as West Brom pay off MSD loans
And now, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has revealed that staggering amount that West Brom are paying off weekly for their MSD loans.
On X, Maguire revealed that West Brom are paying £26,000 per week in interest on their MSD loans, equating to ‘just under 15% a year’, he says.
Shilen Patel needs patience with the Baggies
Whilst Patel arriving and Lai leaving is of course good news for West Brom, it looks like the club will be paying for their misspending for a while yet.
Lai’s ownership has left the club with a lot of debt and a huge interest fee to pay off weekly; as per Salary Sport, only one West Brom player earns more than that £26,000 per week sum, Okay Yokuslu.
So this interest effectively takes up a huge amount on the wage bill and the Baggies and Carlos Corberan will surely be limited on what they can do in the summer transfer window and, possibly, for a few more transfer windows yet.
It’ll be alarming as West Brom boast an ageing squad.
But all could be solved if the Baggies can earn promotion to the Premier League.
Winning promotion will almost ease the club’s financial woes overnight, and currently sitting in 5th place of the table, there’s a huge chance that that happens.
West Brom return to action at home to Sunderland this weekend, and Patel will no doubt be willing the club on.