Peterborough United can confirm that a long-term loan settlement agreement with Old Kent Road Financial Loan Adminco Ltd (OKR Financial) has been reached. A deal has also been struck which will see chairman Darragh MacAnthony acquire a significant number of PUFC shares previously held by Kelgary Sports & Entertainment Ltd (“KSE”) to once again become the majority shareholder of the football club; and accordingly, Jason Neale and Stewart (“Randy”) Thompson have stepped down from the club’s Board of Directors.
MacAnthony said: “I am delighted to announce that after a lengthy negotiation we have signed off on a long-term agreement with OKR Financial on all debt owed to it by Peterborough United Football Club. This is something I have worked on for nearly 10 months and at no stage, contrary to clickbait online articles designed to destabilize our club, did I ever worry about the future financial health of the football club or getting a deal done that works for all parties.
“My job as Chairman of the club is to ensure we live within our means, reduce our debts in a sensible and sustainable manner whilst at the same time having a competitive team that goes out every week to put smiles on our faces with what they deliver on the pitch.
"I would like to say a big thank you to the people at OKR who have worked with me in a fair and constructive way to get this all done and I want to say a special thank you to Jason and Randy for being brilliant partners especially through Covid and the promotion that followed. The last 14 months have been testing for all of us, but each of us love the football club and have worked incredibly hard to see it succeed.
"The three of us still own the company that owns the stadium and in the new year that is the next important ‘to do’ item on my list to resolve. We have checked off the items on the 2023 ‘to do’ list, namely resolving the OKR debt deal, resolving the partnership situation, reloading our first team squad into a much younger team with a clear football identity and having the best-in-class leaders throughout all departments top to bottom at the club.
“I truly believe we are on the verge of some exciting and great times as a club. We have a long way to go to be as good as we can be on all fronts, but trust me when I say that everybody at the football club is working 24/7 to make our club better every day. The most important thank you is to our supporters for sticking with our young squad this season and for their phenomenal support of the club. Without you, our fans, we are nothing, but together we can be everything and anything we want to be.”