Source: Telegraph
£15m Portsmouth loan eases financial pressure at Fratton Park
The loan is from Portpin Limited, a company which is understood to be owed by Balran Chainrai, a Hong Kong-based businessman who has attended the last two matches. [LNB]All staff and players at Portsmouth were paid on time on Friday and there is confidence that this latest injection of funds will allow the club to settle key debts which had led to the Premier League imposing a transfer ban. [LNB] Related ArticlesPortsmouth v Wigan: match previewPaul Hart in dark over Portsmouth's transfer banPortsmouth in crisis: Q&APortsmouth face loss of TV cashPortsmouth handed transfer embargoSport on televisionIt is understood that scheduled instalments on the deals for Tommy Smith, from Watford, and Lassana Diarra, from Arsenal, are now settled, with talks continuing over money owed to Chelsea for Glen Johnson. [LNB]The Premier League will also want reassurance that any debt to Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been paid before lifting the embargo. [LNB]The £15 million will provide some immediate stability as new owner Ali al-Faraj begins the process of refinancing. [LNB] "The new owner plans to completely re-finance the business and that should be in place by the end of November," said chief executive Peter Storrie. [LNB]Chainrai is expected to attend today's match against Wigan, while it has also emerged that non-executive chairman Sulaiman al-Fahim will be present for his first game since transferring a 90 per cent stake to Faraj. [LNB]It is understood that Faraj will again be represented by brother Ahmed and lawyer Mark Jacob. [LNB]The players are well aware that they cannot indefinitely take heart from playing well but not accumulating more points. Midfielder Michael Brown said: "In the games that we've played, we have more than held our own. You cannot be unlucky in every single game and not get points." [LNB]
