Dan Friedkin has clear two-year plan at Everton that will cost £390m

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Dan Friedkin’s takeover of Everton is expected to go through without issue. But with persistent PSR problems and debts to pay, how much flexibility does the US billionaire have to turn things around?

The 59-year-old media and sports investor is currently in exclusive talks with Farhad Moshiri, having been chosen by the British-Iranian owner from a pool of eight groups in total.

Friedkin, who already has a foothold in football through his ownership of AS Roma, is a credible investor and will be one of the richest individual owners in the Premier League should the deal go through.

But with much of the stadium construction project at Bramley Moore Dock still to be financed and a millstone around the club’s neck in terms of PSR, his task will not be straightforward on Merseyside.

TBR spoke exclusively to the Price of Football author/podcaster and University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire to find out what life will be like for Everton under Friedkin.

UEFA’s multi-club clampdown won’t be an issue for Everton

Currently, UEFA forbids clubs with the same owner from competing in the same European competition.

Given that Everton have been more preoccupied with Premier League survival in recent years, Friedkin’s ownership of Roma is not likely to be an issue in this department any time soon.

However, on face value at least, this does place an upper limit on the ambitions of a club whose long-term aspiration surely has to be to disrupt the Premier League’s elite.

But Maguire believes that Everton fans have nothing to worry about here. The lawyers will see to that, he forecasts.

“I think most owners are confident that lawyers will find a way around the conflict of interest issues.

“Whether that’s from not having common directors or setting up a blind trust, there is a legal solution to this.

“So you probably don’t need need to go down the route we have seen at Aston Villa and Brighton, who have sold their controlling stakes in subsidiary clubs.

“There are practical workarounds to perceived conflict of interests. There will be potential legal frameworks that will be acceptable to both UEFA and club owners that will allow both parties to claim victory and ensure the perception of a level playing field is upheld as much as it can be under the circumstances.

Could Friedkin pay off £390m loans to facilitate Chelsea-style PSR workaround?

Barely a week after Friedkin entered into exclusive talks with Moshiri, a Companies House filing appeared to show that California-born investor had paid off a £158m loan from MSP Sports Capital.

That sum, which was intended to be used to fund developments at Bramley Moore Dock, is one of a number of debt financing deals the Moshiri regime had struck with third parties.

The remaining amount owed totals £390m and is made up of similar arrangements with Rights & Media Funding and a group fronted by Evertonian businessmen Andy Bell and George Downing.

Everton are also in a dispute with the Premier League about the conversion of £20m of interest payments in their 2022-23 accounts into equity and whether this should count towards their PSR calculation.

This case, which will be ruled on by an independent commission on an as yet unspecified date, brings together two distinct but overlapping issues for Everton – debt and Premier League spending rules.

One way that fellow PSR strugglers Chelsea have found around PSR is selling property assets to other groups owned by Todd Boehly.

The sale of two on-site hotels generated around £76m of PSR headroom, while they are also believed to have sold a section of their training ground.

Similarly, Arsenal generated around £157m by selling the site of their old Higbury stadium in 2010.

Everton are unable to engineer the sale of Goodison Park for any significant sum but could in theory look to do something similar with their training ground or other property assets.

However, that would first require Friedkin to pay the debts secured against the club’s facilities, explains Maguire.

“I think there are legacy issues for the Friedkin group to deal with first,” he claimed.

“While my understanding is that the MSP loan has been paid off, there are still issues with regards to security over other property assets.

“Until that is dealt with, I don’t think we’ll see them attempt things like Chelsea have done.

“The benefit Chelsea had was that Boehly inherited a club that was effectively debt and mortgage-free as far as real estate was concerned.

“That gave them the flexibility to sell real-estate assets with no incumbrancers on them.

“I don’t think that’s the case at Everton at present. However, if Friedkin wants to pay down all the third-party debt, that would free up other opportunities. But it’s a very expensive route to go down.

“He will effectively have to convert any outstanding debts from Moshiri into equity as far as the overall settlement is concerned.“

• READ MORE EVERTON FINANCE NEWS: Everton could be hit with yet another PSR blow amid £245m reveal

Everton will get £40m PSR boost from Bramley Moore Dock

Within two years, Everton will have completed their maiden season at their new home at Bramley Moore Dock, the 52,888-seater stadium on the banks of the Mersey.

The club have also outlined their plans to rival Liverpool’s Anfield as the go-to venue in the city for hosting lucrative non-football events, which can be worth several million per summer.

Maguire urged caution over the riches on offer from that particular income stream but forecasted that Everton’s PSR position will be markedly improved once the move away from Goodison is complete..

“As much as the charm of Goodison will be fondly remembered by fans, it was generating less than £1m per match.

“It isn’t really attractive on non-matchdays from a commercial point of view, unfortunately.

“We should be looking at doubling the matchday income and potentially heading to £40m in terms of matchday income over the next two years.

“For concert revenues, you have to deduct costs. I think the figures can be a bit overplayed and people get confused by the hype. They should be looking to get a seven-figure return.

“You have to be really smart at this, making sure there is a catering deal in place and charging 25 per cent commission on merchandise on so on. Spurs and Liverpool are brilliant at this.“