Scarlets’ £2.6m loan extension backed by Carmarthenshire Council

In October 2013, CCC agreed to restructure the original £2.4m loan. Earlier in the same year an overspill car park close to the stadium, which was leased to Scarlets, was sold for £850,000. Scarlets received about £600,000 following the sale, despite the land being owned by the council.

Originally the Scarlets were paying 7% interest on that loan, but a revamped deal saw them paying 4% interest with the potential for it to increase.

Due to be repaid by 2023, the new deal could have meant CCC earning about £800,000 less than it would have done, had the original terms of the loan been kept.

Council officials recommended councillors should agree to the terms of the loan again being renegotiated on this basis:

• The term of the loan be extended for 15 years from 1 April 2023, on a repayment basis, with a three-year deferral of payments. The value being £2.616m.

• Repayment of the loan principal commences on the 1 April 2026 on a equal instalments basis, with the value being £218,000 per annum.

• Interest continues to be chargeable and is charged at a rate of 2.2% above bank base rate.

The officials added: “The Scarlets are restructuring their cost base with the anticipation of them becoming more sustainable longer term and has structured their proposed repayment plan on the basis of their current financial pressures.”

You can watch the council’s discussion and contributions from Scarlets chiefs here., external