City owner Lansdown writes off £14m of debt from club
BRISTOL City majority shareholder Steve Lansdown has written off millions of club debt by converting it into shares.
A debt of £14m was owed to Bristol City Holdings Ltd but Lansdown has swapped it for 14,094,361 of shares with the nominal value of £1.
A “Return of Allotment of Shares” form was posted on Companies House dated June 2, in an act which has become an annual process for the Bristol-born billionaire.
Last year, Lansdown capitalised £71m of debt through the same method ensuring the overall financial health of the club despite the financial strains of the pandemic.
In City’s most recent accounts, for the financial years 2019/20, the Robins announced a loss of £10.07m but that only took into account the first two months of Covid-19 and the impact it has had on football.
The loss was also attributed to, “the ongoing investment into the operations of the football club and wider operational infrastructure of the group, including investment in the new training facilities.”
The Robins have been without substantial revenues since March 2020 and the next set of accounts will outline the full impact of that, as will be the case across the Championship.
This latest move by Lansdown is effectively to ensure the club falls within the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability obligations by keeping losses down.
Speaking earlier this year to 3 Peaps in a Podcast, Lansdown said: “When we produce our numbers on the 31st May, they will be horrific. And I hope when people see that they will recognise what it takes to run a football club at the level we’re at.”
Lansdown admitted earlier this year he is actively seeking outside investment and expertise for Bristol City having been in sole control of the club since 2007.
City are also entering a new era with long-standing CEO Mark Ashton having left the club on May 31 for Ipswich Town with Surrey Cricket Club’s Richard Gould replacing him later this month.
Last month, Guernsey-based Lansdown was named as the 124th richest person in the United Kingdom by the Sunday Times with his fortune having swelled £15m to £1.365billion over the last year.