Lleida CF has reached an agreement with a new investor to address its debt with the Tax Agency and Social Security and prevent the insolvency proceedings from advancing without room for maneuver. Marc Torres, deputy to the club's presidency, explained at a press conference that it is a French businessman with a British passport linked to the hotel and restaurant sector.
The operation comes with immediate pressure. The investor has signed the commitment to assume the first payment of 1.8 million euros, while the entity has only 15 business days to close agreements with creditors once the court forwards the insolvency report.
The investor assumes 1.8 million and guarantees seven years of expenses
Torres detailed that the new partner will have to pay 1.1 million euros to Social Security and about 700,000 euros to the Tax Agency. The management also maintains that it already has signed contracts, with penalties in case of breach, to secure the operation.
In addition to the first payment, the commitment includes a long period of financial coverage. As explained by the deputy to the presidency, the businessman is obligated for a minimum of seven years to cover with his personal assets the expenses that the club cannot meet.
Luis Pereira, the current president, also takes a step back financially. Torres assured that he renounces recovering the 2.5 million he has invested in the entity.
Lleida CF agrees on the Camp d'Esports agreement and claims 40,000 euros from Atlètic Lleida
In parallel to the investor's entry, the club has reached an agreement with the Paeria on the Camp d'Esports agreement. Torres set its formalization for tomorrow and linked it to the improvement of the relationship with the mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa.
Torres also stated that Atlètic Lleida owes the club about 40,000 euros for breaching the agreement reached for the use of the stadium. That claim remains open while the entity tries to sort out its economic and corporate situation.
During the season, the board negotiated with four different groups. Among them was one related to Turkish football and the circle of Ramon Planes.
The board expects to present the new partner in two or three weeks
The agreement with the investor was closed in a short period. Torres acknowledged that the final talks lasted between 10 and 12 days and justified that the operation was made public because, in the words of the executive, they knew that judicial processes wanted to be accelerated.
Now the roadmap involves staging the handover. Torres announced that the club expects to present the investor and their team, who must take over the management of the entity, in two or three weeks, and to convene an assembly to introduce the necessary changes in its structure.
Regarding his continuity, Marc Torres said that his intention is not to continue at Lleida CF because, in his opinion, a new project needs different people.