Vincent Tan debt to equity
Towards the end of May, Cardiff City Football Club (Holdings) Limited sent out a letter to shareholders advising that they were applying to increase its authorised share capital by £75m. This was not an actual share issue but a facility to give “headroom” to allow for new shares to be issued at a future date.
At the beginning of June , I became aware that an actual share issue of £42m had actually taken place on 31 May 2026 (i.e in the accounting period 2025/26) and was subscribed to by owner Vincent Tan which he used to convert £42m of the debt owed to him in the accounts into shares. I had been awaiting filing of the required paperwork on the public register at Companies House before disclosing this but, due to a filing backlog at Companies House, this had not happened in the period between lodging the paperwork on 6 June and the evening of the Trust Annual General meeting on 12 June. Therefore, with the club`s knowledge, I advised Trust members of the position at the AGM.
As a consequence of the above transaction, the club has advised the media and myself that the total debt due to Vincent Tan was reduced to £55m. Although this large debt is still owing the reduction of £42m represents a huge reduction in debt levels and is a significant step in the previous pledge by the owner to eventually leave the club debt free.
It should be noted that this debt to equity move has no impact on Financial Fair Play issues as it has no impact on turnover levels by which the club is monitored under these restrictions. What it does do is have a major impact on the balance sheet and reduce the level of debt which might otherwise have to be repaid at a future date.
Keith Morgan
Chairman
CCST
