Exeter City News

Exeter City Issues Further Statement on PFA Loan

Hants

Despite the casual playing down of the need for a loan from the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), by Steve Perryman talking to the BBC, the Club has felt the need to issue another statement. No doubt the statement has been issued in response to some serious concerns by fans. We’ll await a view_from_the_big_bankproper response from the Trust Board which is due on Friday morning.

In its statement the Club talks of surviving the summer months and is confident it can do so with this loan:-

The Club had budgeted for the summer months as usual, however, due to many reasons; with the postponement of the New Year’s Day fixture v Wycombe, quickly followed by the Morecambe postponement being major elements, along with a lower Stadium Plan, St James Park Exeterthan expected Season Ticket income through March and April we realised that with limited working capital available, a number of outstanding debts and no ability to borrow from the bank the Club was left with no other option than to take a loan of £100k from the PFA in early June.

The inability to borrow from banks goes back to the CVA of 2003/04. But now we know the size of the loan, being £100k. The Club assures fans and supporters that there is no impact of its financial problems on the day-to-day running of the Club:-

There will be no impact on the day to day running of the Club as the loanAway Turnstile. St James Park, Exeter is required only to assist with cash-flow. The budget for the coming season has been set on the basis that we will establish a return to our more usual funding pattern for the year as a whole. The loan will be repaid to the PFA in early August.

The statement says nothing about the ability to sign players, a key factor at this time of the year. The signing of new players is usually a condition of a PFA loan to pay player wages.

The situation with the trip to Brazil being brought up on many occasions, the Club finished their statement with:-

Finally, none of the loan will be to assist with the historic return to Brazil in July, which is entirely self-funding, or any other out of the ordinary projects.