London Stadium '£10m backstop' approved to assure suppliers

The London Stadium is projected to make a loss of £20m this year and a total loss of £140m over its first 10 years

A £10m guarantee has been made available to ensure suppliers to the loss-making London Stadium get paid.

Under the deal, approved by the Mayor of London, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will underwrite planned upgrades.

City Hall said the deal was needed to "provide assurance" to suppliers of services such as stewarding and cleaning "that they will be paid".

No extra funding has been made available by the deal.

West Ham were awarded tenancy of the former Olympic Stadium in 2013, however, under the agreement the club does not have to pay for certain running costs.

These instead would be paid for by the taxpayer and include policing, stewarding, goalposts, corner flags, cleaners and turnstile operators.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has taken over the running of the former Olympic Stadium

An independent review found converting the stadium from an athletics venue to a football ground cost £323m- the original estimate was £190m.

The review says that E20, the public sector company set up to run the London Stadium, is projected to make a loss of £20m this year and a total loss of £140m over its first 10 years.

In December 2017, Sadiq Khan announced he had taken control of the stadium.

West Ham owner David Sullivan is to step in to try and speed up discussions aimed at increasing the club's contribution of £1.5m a year in exchange for greater involvement in the running of the stadium.

A spokesman for the mayor said: "This technical agreement allows the LLDC to provide assurance to stadium suppliers that they will be paid from the funding already put in place by the Mayor to cover the stadium's losses.

"The Mayor has taken over control of the London Stadium to put it on a more secure financial footing.

"He is working to ensure its long-term future as a world-class multi-purpose venue and that it continues providing community benefits."