Shilen Patel believes that it makes sense for West Bromwich Albion to continue repaying the loan back to MSD Holdings as was already structured, after deciding against relieving the club of the debt all at once, upon arriving at the club. Patel’s takeover from Guochuan Lai was confirmed at the end of February, as he acquired the controlling stake of 87.8% in West Bromwich Albion Group.
His arrival has brought about renewed optimism from a fanbase which was both left starved of communication from the top during the entirety of Lai’s era and also left worried as to the long-term future of the club after it had been saddled with debt merely to help with the daily running.
It’s estimated that Albion owe, with interest on top, around £27m to MSD, the lenders who manage the wealth of American billionaire businessman Michael Dell. Many might’ve expected that debt to have disappeared in one go upon the completion of the takeover, but new owner and chairman Patel has decided to keep the repayment structure, as it was, in place – although, clearly, with his presence and backing there is more security at club level.
Patel was talking to BBC WM, who have dedicated an hour-long interview with the new Albion owner at 7pm on Wednesday evening and is also available to listen to via BBC Sounds. READ: West Bromwich Albion Holdings, Group and Club explained after update emerges READ: Meeting Shilen Patel as new West Brom owner reveals ambitious ‘global force’ vision “It’s simply, having dealt with a lot of capital structures in my life and in my career, it’s quite simple – it’s what makes the most sense at the time,” he said. “With the MSD loan and how it’s structured, there’d be no benefit to paying it off day one.
In fact it’s inefficient. There will be a time to address the loan but there was no benefit from making it a priority coming in.” Albion sit in fifth, pretty secure by all accounts. Indeed while the three sides directly above them have swapped positions seemingly on a weekly basis, and most sides in the bottom half continue to do so as the absorbing fight for survival plays out, the Baggies have been a constant for north of four months. Still, there are absolutely no guarantees that Premier League football will return to The Hawthorns next year or any time soon.
“All those things are in continuous formation, but I would say that I understand the challenges and the probabilities related to promotion,” Patel continues. “When I was looking at this club, the biggest mistake you could make with any club in the Championship is just assuming next year we’ll be in the Premier League. You can’t do that. It’s about understanding how the next 3-5 years look like if it doesn’t happen.
“If it does, you have a lot more options and possibilities and your priorities can change a little bit. We need to have a vision for how we sustain and how we remain among the top quartile of clubs in this league, for as long as we’re in this league. If we can do that, we’ll have an annual opportunity to go to the next level.
“Our goal, operationally and strategically, is to make sure that we can manage under the rules and constraints, and the realities of the Championship. We hope that we don’t have to worry about that as early as next year, but our whole plan revolves around the fact that we can’t assume we’re going to be a Premier League team within a specific timeframe.”
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geraldine ikyelleve