Despite an appeal from chief executive Rick Parry for everyone associated with Liverpool to stop washing dirty linen in public, there is still great unease within the club over exactly where the liability for the new £350 million refinancing resides.
Exactly one year on from their £220 million takeover of the club, a spokesman for American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. insisted yesterday that there was no intention to load all the debts on to Liverpool's balance sheet.
While they have admitted the £30 million-a-year interest payments will be serviced by the club, they maintain Liverpool will be liable only for £105 million of the new loans with Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia.
The Americans insist a further £245 million of new borrowings taken out by parent company, Kop Football, are secured by their personal guarantees and cash.
But there is uncertainty within Anfield about the implications of an inter-company loan set up to ensure the interest payments can be paid by club income. Some sources believe it makes Liverpool legally responsible for the full £350 million.
If that is the case, then the move would seem to run contrary to a commitment given by Hicks and Gillett in their official offer document to shareholders last year.
At that time they said: "The payment of interest on, repayment of or security for any liability (contingent or otherwise) due under the facilities [loans] will not depend to any significant extent on the business of Liverpool."
If they were to go back on that commitment, the move could attract the interest of City regulator, the Takeover Panel, and embarrass Rothschilds, the bankers used by the Americans to do the deal.
With Liverpool's future still unclear and Dubai International Capital still trying to launch a takeover bid, Parry yesterday called for the club to pull together.
"This is not the Liverpool we all know and love," he said. "It has never been our style to wash our dirty linen in public. The sooner we can put all of this behind us and get back to the Liverpool way the better."
Exactly one year on from their £220 million takeover of the club, a spokesman for American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. insisted yesterday that there was no intention to load all the debts on to Liverpool's balance sheet.
While they have admitted the £30 million-a-year interest payments will be serviced by the club, they maintain Liverpool will be liable only for £105 million of the new loans with Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia.
The Americans insist a further £245 million of new borrowings taken out by parent company, Kop Football, are secured by their personal guarantees and cash.
But there is uncertainty within Anfield about the implications of an inter-company loan set up to ensure the interest payments can be paid by club income. Some sources believe it makes Liverpool legally responsible for the full £350 million.
If that is the case, then the move would seem to run contrary to a commitment given by Hicks and Gillett in their official offer document to shareholders last year.
At that time they said: "The payment of interest on, repayment of or security for any liability (contingent or otherwise) due under the facilities [loans] will not depend to any significant extent on the business of Liverpool."
If they were to go back on that commitment, the move could attract the interest of City regulator, the Takeover Panel, and embarrass Rothschilds, the bankers used by the Americans to do the deal.
With Liverpool's future still unclear and Dubai International Capital still trying to launch a takeover bid, Parry yesterday called for the club to pull together.
"This is not the Liverpool we all know and love," he said. "It has never been our style to wash our dirty linen in public. The sooner we can put all of this behind us and get back to the Liverpool way the better."
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