Intercity, a club in the fourth category of Spanish football in Alicante and which has in its ranks two former Sporting players such as Carlos Carmona and Borja Viguera, yesterday took a historic step by becoming the first team in the country to go public. Entrepreneurs Salvador Martí and Javier Mira, with experience in the stock market and founders of this entity in 2018 after the purchase of CGD San Joan, a modest team that roamed the First Regional Autonomous Region of Alicante, were in charge of making the morning of yesterday the bell of the Madrid Stock Exchange Palace rang loudly.
The news was immediately celebrated and received with enormous enthusiasm by LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who was sent to the event to support Intercity’s “brave movement”. “Today (yesterday) is a very important day for the soccer industry, which will mark a milestone, the IPO of Intercity, the first (Spanish) soccer club to do so. Surely it will not be the last, very sure “, stated the highest representative of the employer’s association on the stage of the Madrid stock market. Sources close to LaLiga affirm in conversation with LA NUEVA ESPAÑA that there will be First and Second Division entities that bet on this model of accounting transparency, and also enter the stock market. “It is a very interesting solution for some clubs after two very delicate years due to the pandemic.
There are already several entities that are studying this possibility, but it will not be feasible for all clubs, ”says a source from the employer’s association. Although, at the moment, there have been no new movements. And what is certain is that this alternative will be treated in the Assembly as another interesting solution to alleviate the effects of covid-19. “It may not be interesting for all clubs; It will depend on the model that the rectors wear. It is easier to implement in clubs that are starting and are not professionals, such as Intercity ”, says the sports director of a Second Division club. Sporting and Oviedo attend the creation of this new model of soccer company from a distance and remain silent.
Thebes has been closely following this entire process. The LaLiga strongman has already maintained contacts with directors of other professional football clubs in recent months. Going on the Stock Market, in any case, is not a simple company. The Alicante Intercity was previously subjected to rigorous audits. Its owners had to show books of accounts and assume not only a commitment to transparency, but also to governance capacity. But, Tebas considers, that the clubs will have no problem in assuming transparency commitments.
Because LaLiga’s economic control is, in his opinion, even greater than that governed by BME Growth, the market accessed by Intercity. ME Growth was born in 2009 under the name of Alternative Stock Market, supervised by the National Securities Market Commission and integrated into the Stock Market. It has rules adapted to the capacity of small companies that do not have the armies of auditors or financial experts that are required to access the Continuous Market.
The Alicante club goes on the market with a value of 5.5 million, the shares cost 1.20 euros and 4.5 million titles will be put up for sale. Intercity has about 300 shareholders, but the executive of the Alicante club expects that there will be many more in the coming months. “You have to be patient, I have no doubt that Intercity will be in professional football. But don’t be anxious. He who is anxious in sports fails ”, reiterated Tebas. “Keep going with these crazy things”, encouraged the maximum representative of the employer’s association.
The expert’s opinion
“It seems to me an interesting possibility of financing for both clubs. I am sure that Asturian clubs have already considered it and will have been thinking about this possibility even though they do not carry it out later, ”says lawyer Ignacio Álvarez-Buylla. “Although it may be an interesting possibility, it may not be of interest to club owners at this time,” he emphasizes. “In any case, it seems to me that it is something positive that the Intercity of Alicante is the first Spanish club to bet on going public because it opens a new option,” he emphasizes.
“Of course, it is an interesting option because more capital can be raised, and that situation could later help for new investments, such as the creation of a football stadium or other sports investments that you might not be able to access unless this financing channel is opened. ”, Explains the Asturian broker Roberto Vilela. “It seems like a success to me. It is a different way ”, he points out. “But it is not an easy decision; It is something that has to be closely tied so that the new shareholders do not make decisions that compromise the club’s policy ”.
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