777’s last-ditch move to pay Everton wages

EVERTON’S prospective owners 777 Partners yesterday made an 11thhour payment of £16million to enable the club to pay this month’s wages.

Mail Sport has learned that the latest tranche of funding from the Miamibased private equity firm had been expected at Goodison Park last Friday, and the hold-up led to fears that Everton may not be able to pay all their staff salaries. Everton sources told Mail Sport that no payments from the club to staff or external contractors such as building firm Laing O’Rourke have been missed, but it is understood there were genuine concerns at the club earlier this week. Sources at 777 confirmed the £16m injection had been made yesterday after a delay, which resulted from talks between both parties over how much funding Everton required to get through the season. 777’s latest payment takes their funding of Everton beyond £200m since Farhad Moshiri accepted their takeover offer last September, although the US company still haven’t satisfied the financial conditions set by the Premier League to gain their approval.

It also emerged yesterday that Everton have engaged insolvency advisers Teneo to help them look for other financial backers, while the same company’s PR arm have stopped working for 777 as they have yet to be paid for work carried out over the previous seven months. Meanwhile, an Australian budget airline owned by 777 abruptly stopped flying yesterday due to financial problems, raising further concerns about the viability of the business. An internal note sent by Bonza Aviation chief executive Tim Jordan said that their fleet was being repossessed by an aircraft-leasing company. 777 declined to comment.