Project Finance Facility

Tottenham Hotspur PLC 29 November 2002 Date: 29 November 2002 Enquiries: Daniel Levy, Chairman Tottenham Hotspur plc tel: 020 7929 5599 John Bick/Trevor Phillips, Holborn tel: 020 7929 5599 Tottenham Hotspur plc ('The Company') Project Finance Facilities Arranged for up to £75 million The Board of Tottenham Hotspur plc announces that it has agreed terms with two leading financial institutions for Project Finance facilities of up to £75 million. Up to £65 million of these facilities are intended to support the Company's principal capital projects. These include the proposed new football academy and first team facility at Abridge in Essex and a potential stadium development. The remaining £10 million has been made available to replace existing short-term borrowings The Company has agreed terms for senior loan notes carrying various maturity terms of between 7 and 20 years secured on certain group revenue streams, the stadium and related assets. New funds will only be drawn down once the Company's strict financial criteria for the specific capital project and other conditions have been met. The £65 million of Project Finance facilities may be drawn down over the next four years in a number of tranches, enabling the Company to match its borrowing requirements with different stages of project development. The interest rate on £25 million of these facilities has been fixed: 7.29 per cent for drawings with a 20-year final maturity and 6.94 per cent for drawings with shorter maturities. The interest rates on the remaining project finance facilities will be calculated at a pre-determined spread over the yield on the benchmark government bond at the time of draw down. The interest rate on the £10 million refinancing element, which has a 20-year final maturity, has been fixed at 7.29 per cent. Commenting, Daniel Levy, Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur plc, said: 'This is a very flexible and innovative agreement that will allow us to match long-term borrowings with our long-term assets and provides some sensible and cost effective options to the Company in the funding of planned capital projects. Whilst it may be some time before we draw down on such facilities, we felt that it was prudent financial management to secure at least one committed source of potential funding and take advantage of the prevailing low level of interest rates. We will continue to examine other sources of finance when and if it becomes appropriate to do so. 'Our proposed new football academy and first team facility is currently subject to planning consent and we are continuing to consult with the local authority. Our other major project is a stadium development where we have yet to conclude a specific proposal. With regard to White Hart Lane there are a number of significant issues to overcome before a planning application could be submitted, particularly relating to transportation infrastructure.' The new facilities were arranged by Lazard. Lazard and the financial institutions providing the new facilities were advised by Ashurst Morris Crisp. The Company was advised by DLA. ends This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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