Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Wachovia agreed a refinancing deal in principle with Liverpool's owners two months ago, but while George Gillett Jr has raised the necessary funds by selling his stake in the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey franchise, Hicks, whose business empire in Texas has been hit hard by the credit crunch, has spent the past weeks trying to secure the cash, the loans or the outside investment to satisfy the banks.
The banks are expected to give Hicks a little leeway, rather than call in the loans as soon as today's deadline passes. However, even if the Hicks-Gillett regime is propped up for another six months by an extension to their refinancing plan, their credibility has long been shattered in the eyes of Liverpool's fans. Last night ShareLiverpool FC and Spirit of Shankly, influential supporter groups that rose out of the dissent with the owners, warned against another short-term fix and stepped up their efforts to launch a serious bid to buy the club.
ShareLiverpoolFC launched a revised initiative to raise £150 million that would be used to make an offer to buy 60 per cent of the club, with an additional £100 million sought from a commercial partner. The remaining £100 million debt would be exchanged for convertible loan stock in the club, which would be bought from the banks in instalments over a 20-year period.
The Spirit of Shankly group said: "This new proposal is a sound plan which offers the only real solution for the club: long-term financing that isn't supported by short-term — and expensive — bank debt."