Premier League football club Arsenal in profit and debt free?

Before gasps abound at how Arsenal have managed to completely eradicate the club’s entire debt including the costs of building the Emirates stadium, the recent press release stated Arsenal announced record pre-tax profits of £56m and said that the property built as part of the move to the Emirates stadium, namely the Highbury Square development was now debt free and making money for the club.

Whilst the club’s property business is now debt free and generating surplus cash, the club’s holding firm Arsenal Holdings plc still has some £135m in debt.

Peter Hill-Wood, non-executive Chairman, said:  “The most pleasing aspect of these results is that the returns generated in the property business during the year, particularly at Highbury Square, have allowed us to repay £130 million of bank loans and significantly reduce the Group’s overall net debt”

Reducing commercial debt by 50% is indeed a commendable result and one which other clubs make look towards mirroring where possible, as the global credit and property markets remain uncertain and in a state of flux.

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