Sunday, May 17, 2009

Liverpool Owners granted 6 Months Amnesty


LIVERPOOL owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will be granted a six-month amnesty on their massive £350million debt.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is to make a re-finance offer to the Americans to ease their immediate cash worries. But the deal will demand the pair guarantee to pump millions of their own funds into Liverpool to retain control of the club.

Gillett and Hicks are now finalising negotiations which will give them a temporarily reprieve from the threat of selling Liverpool on the cheap this summer.

The current deadline expires in July but Sport of the World understands a new two-phase deal is on the agenda. The short extension will be followed by a second, longer-term loan providing Hicks or Gillett raise more cash before January, 2010.

Hicks and Gillett may still need to raise as much as £150m between them to keep a grip on Anfield - but the duo are increasingly bullish they will meet deadlines.

Amid hopes the worst of the economic crisis is easing, the club's owners are also desperate to revive their stalled stadium plans.

Talks with Liverpool city planners to expand their £500m stadium scheme into a 73,000-capacity arena are continuing.

Liverpool want to accommodate an extra 10,000 fans by developing transport links around Stanley Park. The Americans know a business plan which promises revenue from an additional 25,000 tickets per home game could reassure their bankers.

A 73,000-seater stadium would raise over £70m a year in matchday revenue, double their current income from tickets.

Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez will urge his side to do their bit to improve his transfer kitty by as much as £5m by securing a top-two finish.

The difference between finishing second and third in the Premier League can make a huge financial difference - perhaps even enough for an extra signing.

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