The financing of new Camp Nou is the number one priority of the directive of John Laporta. The Barça leadership has established a deadline –March 31– to find that credit that will allow them to face some works that are located in €1.5 billion. Given the complicated world financial panorama and the reputational blows that the Barcelona entity has received, the board has begun to negotiate with the banks so that they form part of the project.
Joan Laporta, giving a speech at the Camp Nou / NETWORKS
According to information established by the newspaper Expansion, the bank can enter with force to finance the works of the culé stadium. The aforementioned source explains that from the leadership of Barça they believe that he could reach the €750 millionwhich implies the 50% of all financing. In this sense, it is expected that up to two or three banks from North America will enter.
The reasons for bank financing
There are two specific reasons that motivate the Laporta board to bet on the credit of the banks for the remodeling of the Camp Nou. The first is that the interest rate can be two percentage points lower, compared to what could be obtained in an agreement with an investment fund –CVC Capital Partners or Sixth Street, to name a few examples–. This is a slight relief in financial terms.
The second reason is that Barça, in the event of being squeezed in the payment to the banking entities, could easily get refinancing. Banks tend to be more accustomed to renewing credits, unlike funds that even contemplate some penalties to modify this type of agreement.
The two bonus options
Until now two options have been raised for the payment of the financing of the Barcelona stadium. The first is one with an issue of three bonds for €500 million, which would be amortized in 2032, 2045 and 2052; while the second would correspond to the division of five bonds of between 100 and 400 million euros. In the latter case, the exact division could be as follows: 100 million to be paid in 2028, 250 million to be paid in 2030, 350 million to be paid in 2032, 400 million to be paid periodically until 2044 and another 200 million to be distributed in different payments until 2047.
The board of directors of Barça de Laporta meets in an ordinary meeting / FCB
Laporta’s decision
With just a few weeks to go before the end of March, the president of the FC Barcelona will have to make an important decision regarding the financing of Espai Barça. There are currently many doubts about this, due to the controversial situation of the case linked to Enríquez Negreira, as well as the context of the rise in inflation. In this scenario, the directive seeks to carry out a project that can represent a huge economic cost in the long term.
Although financing with the bank allows for long-term restructuring, the truth is that it can excessively compromise the Barça entity, especially in this section where the fragility of the accounts continues to be a huge problem.
