How Barça have managed to close the financing of Espai Barça project

How Barça have managed to close the financing of Espai Barça project

| FCB

The club have had to make assurances amid the threat of no European football

After tough and long negotiations, FC Barcelona are very close to closing the financing of the Espai Barça. The global agreement was closed on Tuesday, although a few small details that always exist in a negotiation of these characteristics are still being polished. 

It cannot yet be made official due to a legal issue, but the agreement is completely closed. The business banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, the ones in charge of finding the 1,500 million euros needed -- and maximum ceiling -- to finance the project have fulfilled the objective set by the club, although it is true that the cost for Barça will be higher than initially expected due to some factors that have played against them, such as the rise in interest rates, the 'Negreira' case and the UEFA investigation. 

But the board of directors is satisfied because it has achieved a general interest rate of 6% and ensured the guarantees are only the future income to be obtained from the operation of the Espai Barça itself. This was one of the requirements set by the board following the guidelines of the Assembly of Commitment Holders. The final repayment of the last tranche will end in 2047.

The financing is divided into three tranches. The first, 200 million, will be used to repay a Goldman Sachs loan of 180 million, which has already been used to pay for the first works on the Espai Barça (demolition of the Miniestadi, the third grandstand...) This is the loan with the lowest interest rate, 5.50. It expired on 15 February and was extended for three months to close this financing. 

The details of the other tranches are not yet known, although the final repayment of the last tranche will end in 2047.

Investor scrutiny

Considering the magnitude of the figures and the added last-minute problems, the investors will closely monitor the work, especially the refurbishment of the new Spotify Camp Nou.

Faced with investors' growing doubts about the possibility of Barça being expelled from European competitions and how this income would be alleviated, the club undertook to play friendly matches on the days when they were not playing in European competitions in order to guarantee similar amounts to those they would get if they were to play in the Champions League. 

This imaginative solution was accepted by the investors.

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