FA working with leagues to tackle leveraged takeovers of clubs

The Football Association is working with the Premier League and English Football League to limit so-called leveraged takeovers of clubs, Mark Bullingham has said.

The FA’s chief executive wants limits on the money a prospective owner can borrow against the assets of a club, a move that might have prevented the takeover of Manchester United by the Glazer family or ALK Capital’s deal for Burnley. It comes as the FA continues to jockey for position over the placement of an independent regulator for English football.

“The thing to look at in future ownership structures is the way in which the debt is structured to purchase a club and making sure there’s enough security around that,” Bullingham said. “It’s the extent to which the buyer has leveraged [which] is important; that clubs are sustainable and secure moving forward.

“It is something that we are looking at, and I know the leagues are as well, to make sure that that whole area is explored in any new ownership model moving forward. I think it absolutely is something that will be explored [by a new regulator].”

The Glazers’ ownership of United has been the subject of renewed protests, 17 years after their takeover with a loan secured against the club’s assets, which has generated more than £1.5bn of interest. Burnley’s annual accounts recently revealed that, in the event of relegation, they would be obliged to make a “significant” repayment on more than £100m of debt placed on the club by the owners.

Bullingham believes the FA is a suitable place to house the new independent regulator, plans for which were confirmed in the Queen’s speech this week.

“We think we can give government a really strong argument as to how that regulator could sit alongside the FA,” he said. “I