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Business & tax

Funding Stadium Improvements to Safeguard Promotion

Mandatory ground works funded, safeguarding the club's promotion.

FUNDING SECURED£31,000
DEAL AT A GLANCE
ClientFootball Club
Requirement£50,000 for mandatory stadium improvements
Funding Secured£31,000 unsecured business loan
Term12 months
Lenderiwoca
Completion TimeFunds released within days of approval
Football stadium ground improvements

The Situation

Following a promotion, the football club was required to complete mandatory stadium improvements to meet FA standards.

Failure to comply would have put their league status at risk.

The club had invested in new floodlights, fully owned and supported by invoices. These were initially considered as potential security for funding, with the aim of retaining ownership at the end of any agreement.

However, early discussions revealed that invoice finance did not align with the club's income model.

The Challenge

The initial funding strategy centred on asset-backed and invoice-based solutions.

However:

Invoice finance proved unsuitable
Asset-backed options were limited due to sector appetite
Multiple lenders declined, citing risk associated with non-league football income

At this stage, it would have been easy to accept the market response. Instead, we stepped back and reassessed the structure.

Our Approach

Rather than treating this as a straightforward loan request, we took a full view of the club's financial position and long-term sustainability. We:

Reviewed income patterns and matchday volatility
Assessed asset-backed routes in-depth before ruling them out
Analysed lender objections to rework the proposal
Explored a wide panel of specialist and alternative lenders
Repositioned the request to better align with current risk appetite

This wasn't a case of sending one application and hoping for approval. This required multiple conversations, restructuring of the proposal and careful positioning to secure lender confidence.

The Solution

After pivoting away from asset-backed routes, we secured:

£31,000 unsecured business loan
12-month term
Funds released within days of final approval

While the full £50,000 was not achievable with the current market appetite, the funding secured enabled the club to progress with the required works to meet FA compliance standards. Promotion safeguarded.

Takeaway

This was not simply a case of sourcing finance.

It required:

Strategic reassessment
Persistence after multiple declines
Adaptability in funding structure
A willingness to explore every viable route

In commercially sensitive situations, resilience and intelligent restructuring often make the difference between setback and solution.

THE CREDCO TAKE
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