Mysterious £27m cash transfer between West Brom accounts explained
The reason behind a £27million payment between two Albion accounts can now be revealed by the Express & Star.
Supporters and minor shareholders queried why a £27m dividend was paid from West Bromwich Albion Football Club Ltd to West Bromwich Albion Group Ltd in the year ending June 30, 2016.
The same club accounts, released in 2017, also threw up a figure of £7.1m owed to West Bromwich Albion Football Club Ltd by ‘group undertakings’.
The financial activity took place before Guochuan Lai bought the club and it had previously been difficult to find the reasons behind it.
However, it’s now understood the club made these accounting entries to ensure it had the opportunity to potentially pay all shareholders of WBA Group Ltd dividends in future years.
No dividend has been paid to date to any WBA Group shareholder nor is there any plan to do so in the forseeable future.
The £27million has not been removed from the club, and remains within the accounts.
West Bromwich Albion Group Ltd is the company that owns West Bromwich Albion Football Club Ltd, West Bromwich Albion Heritage Ltd, and West Bromwich Albion Developments Ltd.
Albion’s minor shareholders have a 12 per cent stake in Group Ltd.
West Bromwich Albion Holdings Ltd, which was set up by Peace and is now owned by Lai, is the parent company controlling an 88 per cent stake in Group Ltd.
It’s believed chief executive Mark Jenkins is contemplating merging some of the companies together to simplify the accounts.
