Brought to you by the La Liga giants in line for extra credit pending €575 million Bernabéu investment. Getty Images Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid have reportedly secured a €235 million (US$265 million) loan, pending the successful acquisition of commercial bonds for the club’s multi-million-euro Bernabéu redevelopment. Florentino Pérez, the La Liga club’s president, recently laid out plans to refurbish their iconic stadium, which will be aided by investment from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan worth €575 million (US$650 million). Over and above this investment, the Spanish sports business outlet Palco23 report that Real are privy to a new line of credit ‘with long-term maturity’ that the club could use as part of a business restructure in line with its stadium revamp. According to Palco23, Pérez secured €150 million (US$169.1 million) at the end of the 2017/18 financial year, and has since added €85 million (US$95.9 million) in extra credit. Though it is not clear where the extra bonds were sourced, the Palco23 report also claims that the line of credit will not be charged to the Bernabéu club’s balance sheet, and will be made official by a new entity created in connection to its assets secured from JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch. It is also reported that the interest rate will not exceed 2.5 per cent, meaning that Madrid will make annual repayments in the region of €30 million (US$33.8 million) for 20 years. According to Palco23, the club’s profitability during the last two decades has been influential in continued investor confidence in Madrid, which has ‘made an intense and sustained effort to reduce debt’. However, while confidence in the club remains strong, Madrid are under pressure to show return on the investment in the club after a dip in sponsorship revenue resulted last year in a slowdown in the club’s turnover, which experienced a 1.1 per cent increase to €374.34 million (US$422.2 million) between July and December.
Real Madrid has secured a €235m ($265m) loan, subject to the purchase of commercial bonds, towards the redevelopment of the football club's stadium, the Bernabéu. The loan could be used as part of a financial restructuring. The stadium redevelopment is also being funded by a €575m investment from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan.