Everton have benefited from shareholder loans from Farhad Moshiri, but his sale of the club will likely make the implications of Premier League rule changes redundant.

Changes to Premier League financial rules are unlikely to be problematic for Evertonespecially if the potential takeover of the club is agreed by January 11.

Clubs today voted in favor of amendments to the rules surrounding transactions with associated parties – regulations designed to prevent clubs from signing exaggerated deals beyond “fair market value” (FMV) with businesses related to their owners.

This means that shareholder loans will now be subject to the scope of the APT regulations and assessed under the FMV test. Essentially, this means clubs will no longer be able to fully exploit the benefits of borrowing interest-free from their owners rather than turning to commercial lenders.

According to Everton’s most recent accounts, the Blues have benefited from around £450 million in loans from current majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. Although some uncertainty remains as to how these loans would be classified under the new regulations, it is expected that the loans will terminate if the Friedkin Group completes its takeover of the club, which would make the issue redundant for Everton.

If these loans remain in force on January 11, the deadline set today, they will then have to be submitted to the Premier League board of directors, who would then evaluate them to see if the terms represent FMV. If this proves not to be the case, the club would be able to retain the loans on their current terms, but will have to adjust their accounts from 2024/25 as if the deals had been made at FMV .

It is crucial for Everton that there is no possibility of retrospective action which could have led to changes to previous accounts – two sets of which led to points deductions because they breached profit regulations and sustainability.

Everton reportedly voted in favor of the changes alongside 15 other clubs. The vote follows a ruling after Manchester City, one of four clubs opposed to today’s changes, launched legal action against the APT rules.

City argued that shareholder loans should be included within them, because if the loan carried little or no interest, then they were not at fair market value. The panel agreed, finding the process illegal and concluding: “The exclusion of shareholder loans from the APT rules distorts competition by allowing one form of subsidy, namely a non-commercial loan, but not another, to namely a non-commercial sponsorship agreement. »

After the vote, the Premier League said the rule changes had been drafted in consultation with clubs and experts. He added: “The aim of the APT rules is to ensure that clubs cannot benefit from commercial agreements or cost reductions which are not at FMV by virtue of dealings with associated parties. These rules were introduced to provide a robust mechanism to safeguard the financial stability, integrity and competitive balance of the league.

The proposed takeover of Everton by the Friedkin Group is currently subject to regulatory scrutiny and, although no timetable for completion has been provided, it appears possible to complete it before the end of the year.