Lleida CF has closed the entry of a new investor who will assume the first payment of 1.8 million euros of the debt that the club owes to the Tax Agency and Social Security. The announcement was made this Monday by Marc Torres, deputy to the presidency of the entity, at a press conference in which he detailed that it is a French businessman with a British passport linked to the hotel and restaurant sector.
The operation comes at a time when the club is dragging a bankruptcy agreement and needs to close agreements with its creditors in a very short period. Added to this urgency is the resignation of the current president, Luis Pereira, from recovering the 2.5 million he has contributed to the entity, while the board considers a replacement to be on track, which, for now, has not yet been publicly presented.
The investor assumes 1.8 million and promises to cover what is missing for seven years
Torres explained that the new investor has signed the commitment to take charge of 1.1 million euros with Social Security and about 700,000 euros with the Tax Agency, which make up that first payment of 1.8 million.
In addition, the deputy to the presidency assured that the businessman undertakes to assume with his personal assets, for a minimum of seven years, the expenses that the club cannot cover. This period coincides with the duration of the bankruptcy agreement.
The board also maintained that it has signed contracts, with penalties in case of non-compliance, to guarantee these payments. Torres added that the club plans to present the investor and his team in two or three weeks and then convene an assembly to introduce the necessary changes in the entity's structure.
The club awaits the bankruptcy report while denouncing 40,000 euros unpaid by Atlètic Lleida
In parallel, Lleida CF remains pending the court. Torres specified that, once it receives the transfer of the bankruptcy report, it will have 15 business days to close agreements with creditors.
During the appearance, the director also lashed out at Atlètic Lleida, stating that the rival club owes about 40,000 euros for breaching the agreement for the use of Camp d'Esports. In the same context, he thanked the "sensitivity" of the mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, for having facilitated a change in the relationship with the city council that will allow the stadium agreement to be formalized tomorrow.
Torres explained that during the season the entity negotiated with four different groups. Among them was a group linked to Turkish football, with whom there was a pre-agreement conditioned on permanence, and also the entourage of Ramon Planes, an option that, despite the predisposition shown, did not prosper.
According to his account, the operation finally chosen was closed in 10 or 12 days and only two people knew about it before the announcement made on Friday. The executive also admitted that his intention is not to continue in the new project because, in his opinion, the new stage requires different people.