Patel agrees to pay off £3.7m WBA loan after ruling

Shilen Patel took control at The Hawthorns in February 2024

West Bromwich Albion owner Shilen Patel has been saddled with an added financial burden following the conclusion of an external investigation which has left him with a further loan to repay.

An independent investigation was instigated by minority shareholders in December 2022 into a £3.7m loan in 2014 to the club's parent company - West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited, still run then by former Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace.

The 18-month long investigation has now concluded - and it has been ruled that no further action will be taken.

But American businessman Patel, who took over the club in February, has agreed with the Football League to take on the responsibility of paying back that loan by June 2025.

That is on top of two further loans, the first set up during Peace's successor Guochuan Lai's time as Albion chairman, which has now been settled, and the other which is still being paid off to US investment group MSD Holdings.

Crucially for the Baggies, it will not count towards any future losses.

Albion said, in a club statement: "Following consultation with Shareholders for Albion (S4A) – an organisation representing the vast majority of the 430 minority shareholders of West Bromwich Albion Group Limited - it commissioned an independent investigation by a leading King’s Counsel, Sebastian Isaac KC, into the 2014 loan by the Club to West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited.

"The club would like to thank Mr Isaac for his thorough investigation and the detailed analysis in his report. The club would also like to thank those who participated in the investigation voluntarily. It has taken 18 months to complete as there were many complex issues to consider.

"The report has been reviewed carefully by both the Club and the representative of S4A, with their respective solicitors. No further action will be taken and, so far as both the club and S4A are concerned, the matter is closed.

"The club’s current directors remain under an obligation in relation to repayment of the loan.

"On 28 February 2024 Bilkul – a company ultimately owned by Shilen Patel and Dr Kiran C Patel – acquired an 87.8% shareholding. As part of that acquisition, a funding agreement has been agreed with the club and English Football League to 30 June 2025 and liability for the loan transferred to Bilkul. As a consequence, the club will not sustain any loss in respect of the loan."

Analysis - Hard not to sympathise with Albion owner

BBC Radio WM's Steve Hermon

Shilen Patel is, of course, a multi-millionaire and will have had access to all of West Bromwich Albion’s financial information before completing his takeover of the club - but you have to have some sympathy with the Baggies owner for the situation he has inherited.

When I sat down with him for an exclusive interview on BBC Radio WM earlier this year, he confirmed to me that he would be paying back the MSD Holdings loans, which were taken out to fund the day-to-day running of the club during the latter days of the reign of Guochuan Lai, who had himself taken money out of the club to prop up his other businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

Patel has already paid back the Lai loan in full but now Bilkul Football WBA has taken on this responsibility too, paid to then chairman Jeremy Peace’s parent company.

It’s worth noting that this repayment plan agreed with the EFL won’t count towards any losses - and the hope is that the Baggies can eventually move on to a much brighter future under the American. But there might be a bit more of a bumpy road to travel to get there.