Everton face £60m 777 Partners loan if deal collapses

Everton could owe 777 Partners £60 million by the time its planned takeover of the club is approved or blocked after being loaned another £20 million by their prospective new owners.

Telegraph Sport has been told the United States firm has provided the debt-ridden Premier League side with more working capital to cover a second month’s worth of wages while it attempts to complete a £500 million purchase.

The loans, which are fully compliant with Premier League rules, would be converted into equity in the event of a successful takeover but would otherwise be repayable by a club some fear are already at risk of going bust.

The payments began after Farhad Moshiri agreed a deal with 777 last month subject to the league’s owners’ and directors’ test and approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, with a final decision not expected until the end of the year.

According to a report in the New York Times , 777 had yet to provide the FCA with the audited financial statements necessary for a takeover to be ratified.

But a spokesman for the firm said on Wednesday: “We have submitted all relevant documentation to the FCA in line with their requests, and indicative timings. As we have previously stated, the regulatory processes in relation to the proposed acquisition of Everton FC need to be allowed the proper time and space to run their course in private, and so we will not be commenting further.”

The FCA said it was unable to comment.

Speaking on Sunday, Moshiri, the Everton owner, told Sky Sports News: “The more time that I have spent with the 777 team, the more my confidence increases that we have found the right people to take the club forward in the modern era.

“They are highly professional and deliver exactly when they say they will, and I look forward to them achieving all their regulatory approvals and proceeding to completion on the timetable we set.”

Everton’s Fan Advisory Board has published a list of questions it wants 777, which has involvement with seven other clubs around the world, to answer.

The firm has been late honouring its commitments in the past, including to the British Basketball League, which it co-owns. A delay in making a payment to the BBL this summer put the organisation at risk of “immediate administration”, according to an e-mail sent by the competition’s chairman, Sir Rodney Walker.

Since the firm’s interest in buying Everton first became known, it has also emerged that it or its sister companies have faced accusations of fraud, offering illegal loans and failing to pay bills totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars in the US.

If any of the allegations were ever shown to be true then such activity would be a disqualifying condition under the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.

The firm has strenuously denied the allegations first reported by Norwegian publication Josimar , stating: “777 has always strived to conduct its businesses in line with local laws and regulations. Where it has been suggested otherwise, we will defend our reputation vigorously by all legitimate means.”