Celtcs Cheap Loans

[chilledbear 16]

http://t.co/O3yhUF12e6

 

The Co-operative Bank has come under fire for dishing out £33.2million in cheap loans and overdrafts to Celtic Football Club, which was chaired by former Labour home secretary John Reid.

MPs last night demanded an explanation for the rock bottom interest rates and accused the mutual of using the ‘hard-earned cash of millions of savers for political gain’.

It is the latest twist in the row over the troubled lender’s links with the Labour Party.

 

Own goal: The Glasgow-based football club has long-established links with the Labour Party

Glasgow-based Celtic was chaired by Lord Reid, the former home secretary under Tony Blair, between 2007 and 2011.

Labour’s former energy minister Brian Wilson joined the Celtic board in 2005 and remains a director.

Insiders said the loan pre-dates both Wilson and Reid’s arrival at the club.

 

But Celtic has long-established links with Labour, which has controlled Glasgow City Council since the 1970s.

The latest company accounts for Celtic show it has a £12million overdraft facility charging an average of 1.5 per cent over the year to June 30 2013.

This is based on one percentage point above the Bank of England’s base rate, which is currently 0.5 per cent.

The remainder is made up of a £21.2million long-term loan, with an average rate of 1.65 per cent. This makes even Labour’s recent £1.2million cheap loan at 4 per cent – or 3.5 per cent above Base Rate – look expensive.

Co-op’s hugely generous terms once again highlight the close links between the scandal-hit lender and the upper echelons of the Labour Party.

The political connection has come under the spotlight after former Labour councillor and former Co-op Bank chairman the Reverend Paul Flowers was caught out allegedly organising drug-fuelled orgies with rent boys.

Mark Garnier, the Conservative MP and member of the Treasury Select Committee, said: ‘The questions about Labour’s influence over the management of the Co-op knows no limit. It now seems that cheap loans are available to organisations where Labour ministers have significant influence as well as directly to the Labour Party itself.’

He added: Why were Labour and their friends receiving cheap loans? What political outcomes was the Co-op trying to buy? Were the millions of savers at the Co-op bank told their hard-earned cash was being used for political gain? Have any of the Labour-related soft loans contributed to the £1.5billion black hole in the Co-op balance sheet?’

The first deadline to vote on a rescue package to plug a £1.5billion black hole in the lender’s finances falls at 4.30pm on Friday.

The Co-operative Party, the political wing of the Co-op, is the sister party of Labour.

In order to help shore up its finances Co-op Bank stopped lending to small firms in May.

[Darthter 542]

some further reading from just before Xmas time...

 

http://footballtaxhavens.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/co-operative-bank-requests-lawwell-to-add-more-security-to-celtic-loan-facility/

 

Co-operative Bank requests Lawwell to add more security to Celtic loan facility

POSTED BY FOOTBALLTAXHAVENS ⋅ JANUARY 3, 2014 ⋅ 5 COMMENTS

FILED UNDER CELTIC FC, CO-OPERATIVE BANK, GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL, PETER LAWWELL

It didn’t take the Co-operative Bank long to snaffle up the land the Glasgow City Council approved to be sold to Celtic on 12th December 2013. That’s our’s said the bank on the 24th December 2013. http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/viewDoc.asp?c=e%97%9Di%93ny%8A

 

Celtic PLC made a company posting on Christmas Eve which was spotted by PZJ. It looks as if the Co-operative Bank have called for more security on Celtic’s low interest loan facility. See New Mortgage/Standing Charge below signed by CEO, Peter Lawwell. The Co-operative Bank look like they are getting heat on the generous terms of their loans to Celtic which are sure to be part of the Treasury inquiry to be announced early this year.

 

Celtic appear to be the only major football club that the Co-operative Bank loans funds to now according to the Co-operative Bank Financial statement 2012 page 65 :

 

Coop Bank Risk Football 2012

 

http://www.co-operative.coop/Corporate/PDFs/The-Co-operative-Bank/2012/Bank_Financial_Statements_2012.pdf

 

The £33.2 Million matches Celtic’s loan facility and there are smaller amounts being unwound/written off but by far, Celtic’s stands out on it’s own. The Co-operative Bank cannot claim they have been offering the same terms to several clubs apart from their favourities.

 

Question: If the Credit Risk is so strong why are the bank asking for more and more land?

 

Co-operative Bank Standing Charges

Since 2001, when the Co-operative Bank gave Celtic the original loan and overdraft facility, the loan/overdraft amounts have not changed. Originally, in 2001, only Celtic Park was security. However, even when Celtic has been rolling in the money from the UEFA Champions League, the Co-operative Bank has requested more security and Celtic has fed them as much land as they could acquire:

 

2006 Lennoxtown

 

2009 Westhorn

 

2009 The Celtic Triangle

 

2011 Land South West of Glen Road Lennoxtown

 

2013 More Glasgow City Council land

 

Questions: If the original 2001 Co-operative Bank loan was kosher, above board and properly risk assessed then why has so much more security been demanded in the years since? And especially now, why when all the Champions League money is flowing too, at a time when apparently risk has been reduced?

 

<There are further docs available in the full article....>

[Darthter 542]

and another (from the same site:

 

http://footballtaxhavens.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/glasgow-city-council-extended-option-on-london-road-primary-school-and-theres-no-paper-trail/

 

Glasgow City Council extended option on London Road Primary School and there’s no paper trail

POSTED BY FOOTBALLTAXHAVENS ⋅ DECEMBER 18, 2013 ⋅ 2 COMMENTS

FILED UNDER CELTIC FC, GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL, LONDON ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL

As stated in the previous post, on 12 December 2013, Glasgow City Council Executive Committee approved the sale of land around Celtic Park including an option on the London Road Primary School.

 

LRPS Sale 12 12 2013

 

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/viewSelectedDocument.asp?c=e%97%9Di%93ny%8A'>http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/viewSelectedDocument.asp?c=e%97%9Di%93ny%8A

 

And as we saw according to the Council’s documents the option, for 3 years only, was given on an Executive Committee document dated 19 January 2007:

 

19 January option given on LRPS 3 yrs

 

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/viewSelectedDocument.asp?c=e%97%9Di%93ny%8A

 

That option to purchase the land by 19 January 2010 has lapsed.

 

Searching the Glasgow City Council website for ‘London Road Primary School‘ between 1/9/2006 (before the 3 year option given in 2007 above) and the current date, the following documents come up:

 

2006 till today LRPS search

 

The only document referring to the London Road Primary School after the 3 year option award on 19 January 2007 and 2013 is number 7. dated 11 December 2009. This is Celtic Football Club Masterplan which is 4 pages and the word ‘option‘ appears once with nothing to do with London Road Primary School.

 

Someone at Glasgow City Council without any committees approval or minutes gave Celtic another option on the London Road Primary School site after the original lapsed. There is no paper trail for this decision and agreement.

 

From the original option on 19 January 2007 until today, Glasgow City Council gave the option solely to Celtic. There has been no offer on the open market for almost seven years – it has been reserved for Celtic for seven years to find the money. Why did Celtic not buy it since it’s a steal? Also the Council’s concession of attaching a RPI increment? So when was that to start – from 1st April 2009 when the Council had already declared the option on 19 January 2007, so they give Celtic another 2 year discount. Something stinks badly and Celtic realise this – are they scared of an inquiry?

 

Celtic have not bought the property – they have just told the Council ‘they will when they are ready’. Glasgow City Council are Celtic’s puppets.

 

We are getting beyond local corruption and into EU State Aid issues which is currently hitting top Spanish football clubs like Real Madrid.

[ian1964 10,563]

MP inquiry call over Co-op loans to Celtic

 

Published on 10 January 2014

 

GREGORY Campbell, the Democrat Unionist MP, has asked Chancellor George Osborne to investigate claims that the Co-operative Bank provided low interest loans and overdraft facilities to Celtic FC.

 

The backbencher, who represents East Londonderry, made his request in a parliamentary question following reports that the Co-op Bank gave more than £33 million in cheap loans and overdrafts to the club.

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/news/home-news/mp-inquiry-call-over-co-op-loans-to-celtic.23129520?_=c097638f92de80ba8d6c696b26e6e601a5f61eb7