Labour struggles to repay party loans

Labour is
struggling to renegotiate with 11 wealthy businessmen up to £14m worth of loans
falling due over the coming months.

The secret credit extended by the businessmen reportedly helped the party out
in 2005 and all but one of the millionaires have met Jon Mendelsohn, chief party
fundraiser, at accountancy firm
KPMG to negotiate a single
agreement to defer the loans for up to nine years, the Financial Times
reports.

However, property tycoon Andrew Rosenfeld was not at the meeting, triggering
alarm among Labour officials he might want his money back on time while others,
including Chai Patel and Sir David Garrard, are understood to be moving closer
to signing a deal after long and complicated discussions.

Labour has insisted its auditors will sign off the party’s annual accounts by
Monday, in spite of fears about its increasingly precarious financial position.

Further reading:

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the Financial Times story