Docked points. Opaque lenders. A takeover hanging in the balance. Everton’s financial woes go on and on

A Guardian investigation unveils links between the club and a Barbados-based racehorse owning multimillionaire

Dear readers — over the weekend we passed 1,500 paying members. In what feels like the shortest space of time The Post has gone from one staff member sitting in a bedroom writing for a few hundred readers to an actual team with the capacity to produce stories (like this weekend’s) of a scale and ambition which had basically vanished from local news in the UK. 

Of course, in one sense these milestones are a bit arbitrary. But they say something important — that more and more people are making the crucial decision to back good quality local journalism. Our sincerest thanks to all 1,500 of you. If you believe Merseyside needs proper local journalism, then there’s a concrete step you can take: just click that button below.

Sadly, not every grand local institution finds itself in such rude health. In today’s Big Story we return to Everton FC, whose appeal against a second points deduction of the season has coincided with further revelations about the club’s finances, including loans from opaque lenders linked to a Monaco and Barbados-based racehorse owner…

We’ve had a remarkable reception to Part One of Abi’s investigation into Big Help Project, a charity in Liverpool headed by ex-Labour councillor Peter Mitchell. Despite its stellar reputation, the charity is now under investigation by the Charity Commission over conflicts of interest and trustee decision making. During her time investigating the Big Help, Abi uncovered worrying signs that indicate the charity is built on a house of cards, and spoke to a number of Big Help’s tenants who were left living in squalor. 

Special investigation: The collapsing world of Liverpool’s charity kingpin

Abi spent nine months pulling the story together, poring over complicated documents, tracking down evasive sources and ringing up experts to weigh in on the Big Help empire. “Concerning, deeply reported story about the unlikely owner of Southport Football Club,” Patrick Maguire from The Times wrote on X. “Great deep dive into one of Home REIT's major tenants,” Robert Smith at the Financial Times added. 

But it wasn’t just media bigwigs who hailed the story a triumph. We had an influx of new subscribers join us over the weekend thanks to our Big Help investigation. “This is why I am happy to pay my subscription — lifting the lid and moving the stones — asking the questions and following the money,” one of you wrote. 

If you haven’t read the investigation yet, catch up here. It raised some serious questions about the oversight and management of the Big Help Project, which Abi will be answering in Part Two of the investigation which is coming out on Wednesday. 

Coming up in Part Two: 

• The Labour councillor and her yoga company.

• Big Help Project was paid millions by property developers – where did the money go?

• And The Post obtains a secret recording of Mitchell in a business meeting. His biggest fear? That he will “wake up one morning and hear a bomb has gone off”.

That will be a members-only story, so make sure you click the button below to subscribe to have that delivered directly to your inboxes. 

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Big story: Docked points. Opaque lenders. A takeover hanging in the balance. Everton’s financial woes go on and on 

Top line: Everton will appeal their second points deduction of the season, but further revelations about the club’s finances are coming to light. The Guardian have now revealed the club has paid £30 million in interest charges to an opaque lender associated with a tax exile.

Context: While Liverpool’s title push dramatically faltered at the weekend, Everton are facing their own continued woes. The club has argued the Premier’s League latest punishment (a two point deduction for breaches of financial rules) is excessively harsh. The case will go to appeal.

Now, a Guardian exclusive has revealed that Everton FC paid roughly £30 million in interest charges to an opaque lender. Moreover, the club is now believed to owe more than £500m to third-party lenders in total. 

Cheshire-based RMF borrows funds from opaque offshore firms in order to lend to football clubs. 70% of their loans have been made to Everton. The company has no employees, but The Guardian reports that the trail of Everton’s debt to RMF leads to Michael Tabor, “a Monaco and Barbados-based racehorse owner and leisure entrepreneur.” More here.

• Tabor has links to two companies, Galloway (Cyprus) and Carroch (Bahamas) which have helped to keep Everton afloat with loans

• Galloway is owned by British Virgin Islands-based Balnom Inc, which Tabor owns, according to documents. Meanwhile the owner of Carroch is unknown, though Tabor has been associated with a company with a similar name

• Tabor did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment

Michael Tabor at the Sky Bet Ebor Festival in 2023. Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images.

Amid all this, the club’s prospective takeover by American firm 777 Partners now appears to be hanging in the balance. The firm, led by businessman Josh Wander, last week requested more time to raise the required funds for the deal. 

Nil satis nisi optimum? Whether or not Everton fans want the deal to go through is another matter. Unpopular though current owner Farhad Moshiri may be, there are multiple concerns over 777:

• Poor stewardship of other clubs owned by 777 — four of which have seen large fan protests against their owners, and one of which — Brazil’s Vasco De Gama — recently defaulted on a number of transfer payments 

• Wander’s 2003 arrest for attempting to smuggle 31 grams of cocaine into America (as well as lawsuits relating to leased aeroplanes) 

• And his penchant for self-aggrandising third-person statements hasn’t endeared him to fans (“Is there anyone in the world that's been more serious about buying football clubs in history than Josh Wander?” he wondered aloud last year)

Bottom line: While many have reasonably pointed out that the scale of the punishments facing Everton seem excessively harsh (especially when compared to other similar cases) the continued revelations about their finances make a bleak picture look bleaker. Indeed, some believe Everton have got off lightly in all this. Luton Town CEO Gary Sweet told BBC Three the “punishment doesn't fit the crime” and that Everton ought to have faced a larger deduction. Whether that has anything to do with the fact Luton sit two points behind Everton and are set for relegation themselves, we wouldn’t like to say.

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Home of the week

Just a stone’s throw away from the Promenade in New Brighton, this four bedroom house has some gorgeous original features meshed with more modern installations like a conservatory. It’s on the market for £365,000 — an absolute steal with its huge back garden and proximity to the beach. Find out more here. 

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Your Post briefing

Chaotic scenes at Aintree over the weekend where a mighty brawl broke out on Ladies Day. Pictures of well-dressed men with bloodied noses and jaws were widely shared on social media and Merseyside Police confirmed 14 arrests had been made. Far be it from us to condone violence, naturally, but someone has captured some incredible action shots. We sent horseracing hater Jack along to try and get into the spirit of things on Friday, which you can read here (we can confirm he was not well-dressed enough to get embroiled in the brawl).

Might the end be in sight for the Great Hoylake Civil War, a mighty feud over the use of pesticides to spray a beach which has hung over the quiet seaside town for years? Today Wirral Council will meet to decide on whether to seek approval from Natural England to clear vegetation off three hectares of beach. The move is supported by the town’s three Tory councillors, as well as 70% of the town according to a consultation, but not by Natural England themselves. For years the town has feuded over whether clearing the vegetation is wise; a debate which has descended into deeply personal acrimony (including significant ire directed at councillor Elizabeth Grey: described variously in local Facebook groups as “despicable”, a “liar”, a “right piece of work”, and a “pig-headed woman” according to Harry’s piece from 2021). 

And get ready for an early wake up on Saturday to grab the best music around as Record Store Day hits shops across Merseyside. We’ve got our eye on a few spots around town (watch out Dig Vinyl and Dead Air Records…) but for those less inclined to drop a wad of cash on exclusive vinyl releases, there’s a whole host of gigs and entertainment across Liverpool too. Over at the Jacaranda, DJs will start their sets from 11am, followed by live performances from Liverpool songwriter Michael Aldag and The Kairos. Then, over at the Jacaranda’s new Baltic venue, Kyle Falconer of The View fame will take to the stage for a special set. We can’t wait — let us know what release you’re looking forward to in the comments below.

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Post Picks

🎤 Tomorrow MerseyMade is hosting a talk with Andy Peebles, the BBC disc-jockey and cricket commentator. He’ll be chatting all about his love of music, and being the last person to interview John Lennon before he was killed. The event starts at 6.30pm — find out more here.

🎨 Head over to Birkenhead on Wednesday for Future Yard’s Drink and Draw. The session will be held by illustrator Lo Tierney, with all materials provided. Book a ticket here. 

🎵 Legendary Detroit rap group Slum Village head to the O2 in Liverpool on Wednesday with new music for the first time in seven years. Abi’s recommended listening before heading down? Try Hustle. Find out more here. 

🍷 Linghams Booksellers in Heswall is hosting a wine tasting event on Wednesday with wine writer and broadcaster Hannah Crosbie. You can book a ticket for the event here, and included in the price is a copy of her new book Corker.

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Photo of the week

A child on the Merseyside coast by Ken Grant

This Guardian interview with Liverpool photographer Ken Grant heralds his picture of a child on a Merseyside beach as one of his greats — taken back in the summer of 1996. “The flash gives it energy – as does the kid, who is clearly putting all of her life into drinking from that cup.”