Loans to SPFL football clubs during Covid-19 pandemic: FOI release
- Published
- 4 September 2025
- Directorate
- Health and Social Care Finance Directorate
- Topic
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) and other respiratory infections in Scotland, Money and tax, Public sector
- FOI reference
- FOI/202500462490
- Date received
- 20 April 2025
- Date responded
- 15 May 2025
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
You asked for:
- The name of every SPFL club who took out a Covid Loan from the Scottish Government during Covid- 19?
- The value of Covid-19 loan each SPFL club took from Scottish Government?
- The current outstanding Covid-19 loan amount as at end of March 2025 from each SPFL club?
- The Covid-19 loan term for each SPFL club that took a Covid-19 loan?
Response
I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested.
For ease of reference, I have separated the response into individual points. The answer to points 1, 2 and 3 are presented in the table below. The loan terms are detailed in the paragraph below.
| SPFL Club | Initial Loan (£) | Repaid to Date (£) | Loan Outstanding as of 31 March 2025 (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 3,119,000 | 402,871 | 2,716,129 |
| Dundee United | 2,818,000 | 152,642 | 2,665,358 |
| Hamilton Academical | 1,151,000 | 20,000 | 1,131,000 |
| Hibernian | 2,882,000 | 372,258 | 2,509,742 |
| Kilmarnock | 1,828,000 | 236,117 | 1,591,883 |
| Livingston | 1,783,000 | 147,559 | 1,635,441 |
| Motherwell | 2,959,000 | 382,204 | 2,576,796 |
| Rangers | 3,200,000 | 413,333 | 2,786,667 |
| Ross County | 1,158,000 | 149,575 | 1,008,425 |
| St. Johnstone | 2,600,000 | 335,833 | 2,264,167 |
| St.Mirren | 1,764,000 | 176,400 | 1,587,600 |
| Total | 25,262,000 | 2,788,792 | 22,473,208 |
The credit facility agreement specifies that each SPFL Club shall repay their borrowing, interest free, in equal monthly instalments starting on 01 September 2022, and ending on 01 August 2042. The clubs and the Scottish Government retained the right to renegotiate the terms of the agreements, including changes to the timing or amounts of repayments, to offer flexibility based on performance and final league positions.
Since the initial agreement, the following clubs have renegotiated the following terms:
Dundee United have negotiated an annual repayment plan with their loan period now ending in 2043.
Hamilton Academical have negotiated an annual repayment plan with their loan period now ending in 2049.
Livingston have negotiated an annual repayment plan with their loan period now ending in 2043.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG