Scottish football club Celtic, in which Dermot Desmond is a major shareholder, has revealed that its debts have risen to close to the £20m mark following a drop in turnover and a poor season in Europe last term.
The amount owed at Celtic Park has risen by £3.7m to £19.5m after turnover dropped by nearly 10%, leaving the club with a loss of £7.7m for the year ending June 30.
Celtic, who won the Scottish Cup but were pipped for the league last season under Martin O'Neill, finished bottom of their Champions League group last season, leaving them without an additional round of UEFA Cup football.
Celtic chairman Brian Quinn blamed the lack of European football in the second half of the season for the results.
Celtic have announced a lucrative five-year sponsorship deal with Nike and played down the increase in debt. Celtic slashed their wage structure by clearing out 13 players while bringing in seven new faces this summer.
'We are getting closer to the figure of £20m and that would be as far as I'd like to see it go. But it is far too early to make judgements about going over that mark,' said Quinn.
