Kieran Maguire explains why the Macquarie borrowing is common in the Premier League and what it signals about Sunderland’s financial position and relegation outlook.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Sunderland’s latest borrowing from Macquarie Bank is a routine move for Premier League clubs and should not be interpreted as a sign of financial distress.
Documents filed at Companies House show the Black Cats have registered a new charge dated February 13, securing lending against their Premier League central distributions until June next summer. It follows a similar short-term facility agreed in October, which was secured against broadcast revenues between January and April.
Why Sunderland are borrowing from Macquarie Bank
According to Maguire, Macquarie has become a specialist lender within football. "It's quite common to use Macquarie as a source of funding, both for clubs that have just been promoted and for some of the more established Premier League clubs as well. They are a specialist or they have a specialist division which focuses on lending to football clubs.
"It's nearly always secured on either the future TV revenues or alternatively, if a club has sold a player and most player sales these days are on instalments, then what you do is you effectively take out a, they call it invoice discounting, a more cynical view but it's a sort of a corporate payday loan but they'll take it out secured on the future instalments coming in to the club which then go to Macquarie."
How Premier League TV payments shape cash flow
Maguire explained that the structure of Premier League broadcast payments makes this type of borrowing particularly useful for newly promoted clubs looking to invest early.
"If you take a look at how Premier League payments are structured, there's normally a fairly large payment comes in in sort of June, July-ish. This is really useful for the clubs that have just been promoted because otherwise they're trying to recruit players and they've not got the physical cash to do so. I think it's actually a good idea by the Premier League.
"You get around I think around about 50-60% of the guaranteed sums coming in fairly early on and on top of the sponsorship deals and the money from season tickets, it gives those clubs just promoted the opportunity to compete in the transfer market."
Further payments are then spread across the campaign, with league position determining the final settlement.
"And then you've got normally two to three payments over the course of the year so you get that in instalments and then there's a final settlement at the end of the season when we will know Sunderland's final position and remember it works out as around about £2.6million per place in terms of the additional money you get.
"So, finishing ninth instead of twelfth is worth £7.8million and that's good because it means there's no such thing as a dead rubber in the Premier League and every match is beneficial because players' contracts are often linked to final league positions."
Why clubs still need to borrow during the season
While early payments are valuable, Maguire stressed that cash flow can still be uneven during the campaign. "Whilst it's good to get the cash flow at the start of the season, it does mean that cash flow during the season can be quite low.
“You might, for example, especially if you're in the FA Cup, get a couple of away matches or get out of the third round, you could go throughout the whole of January with just one home match. "You've sold 30-35,000 season tickets so the only physical cash you're getting is from the away fans and the walk-up fans."
As a result, borrowing allows clubs to smooth day-to-day finances, Maguire explains: "So, therefore, using Macquarie and their cash advances is really useful. It allows the club to do some cash balancing because you've got your constant costs such as wages, heat and light, your general utilities, transport costs, accommodation costs and so on. They're fairly constant throughout the season, whereas the money coming in is more erratic."
Why traditional banks avoid football clubs
Maguire also explained why football clubs often turn to Macquarie rather than high street banks. "Traditional banks can be a little bit nervous about lending to a football club for two reasons. The vast majority of football clubs are loss-making, Sunderland included, although Sunderland's losses are pretty modest by the standards of the EFL. And the other issue is that if you're the bank and you start to call in the overdraft or the loan, the bank can suffer reputational damage because they get seen as the big bad wolf of that town or city."
Macquarie, he said, operates differently. "It's an Australian bank. It's not a high street bank. It's an investment bank and people know Macquarie don't give a damn what people think of them. That's why we've got this position where they've got a niche market. They've got their specialist division. They're very good at what they do. There's no doubt about that."
What happens if Sunderland were relegated?
The timing of the loan, Maguire believes, reflects confidence in Sunderland’s Premier League status. "If Sunderland are relegated, it does create a short-term issue potentially. I think the fact that this loan has just been taken out now reflects the fact that as far as Macquarie are concerned, there's no chance of relegation this season. That means that Sunderland have got guaranteed revenues from the Premier League for 2026-27."
He also pointed to the importance of parachute payments. "Because they will have been in the Premier League for more than one season, that gives them three years' worth of parachute payments instead of two. So, again, from Macquarie's horizon perspective, that means further money is coming in, which means that they're more willing to lend perhaps a wee bit more money and be probably at slightly lower interest rates."
Does this fit Sunderland’s financial model?
While borrowing from Macquarie is more expensive than internal funding, Maguire says it is not a concern. "Borrowing from Macquarie is by definition to be more expensive than borrowing from Louis-Dreyfus either through owner loans or issuing fresh shares. But that in itself is sort of unusual. We don't know the exact nature of his wealth, whether that's tied up in other assets or whether he's got spare cash."
The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join ourSAFC WhatsApp channel.
Ultimately, he believes the move is standard practice. "So, I don't see this as being anything to worry about. You know, all businesses borrow. It is a common feature. You're in with the big boys. It looks like you're going to stay with the big boys next season as well. And therefore, this is sort of one of the activities that is quite common for clubs that have been successfully promoted."
With Sunderland now holding registered charges from both Macquarie Bank and Akira BV, the club’s upcoming accounts will offer further clarity on how this borrowing fits into the wider financial picture.
Continue Reading