Burnley under the spotlight

BUrNLeY are facing an eFL investigation into the ownership of the club amid uncertainty and a lack of transparency over who is in charge at Turf moor. American consortium ALK Capital paid £170milion to buy Burnley two years ago in a highly leveraged takeover largely funded by debt and the club’s own money, but the authorities have since received information suggesting that the ultimate owners could be another financial entity based in Jersey.

The Premier League began making enquiries last season and the matter has been passed on to the eFL following the club’s relegation. The eFL are understood to have asked Burnley to clarify certain aspects of their ownership, particularly regarding their alleged links to institutions in Jersey. Burnley’s Championship rivals were made aware of the issue, which was discussed at an eFL meeting yesterday. ALK Capital are registered to an address in Leeds, with all three directors registered in Delaware. Burnley’s financial arrangements have been scrutinised since the ALK takeover, which was fronted by American financier Alan Pace, who is chairman. The deal was funded by borrowing £37m from the club’s own bank account and a £65m loan from mSD Holdings, and in February Burnley took out a £12.5m bridging loan from Australian bank macquarie, which they will repay when they receive the second instalment of the £25m fee for Chris Wood’s transfer to Newcastle. much of the debt has been repaid, with Sportsmail revealing last month that Burnley have spent £32.3m this summer paying off almost half of the mSD loan due to an early repayment penalty triggered by relegation. Burnley sources told Sportsmail last night that ALK are unequivocally the owners of the club and that they have yet to receive questions from the eFL. The Premier League and eFL declined to comment.