May 22 – Livingston, newly promoted to the Scottish Championship, is looking to raise up to £3.8 million via a share issue but the club says that there are no plans to pay investors a dividend. Shares are priced at £1 each.
The share issue would be part of a move which would see the club ownership switch from Livingston 5 to a new holding company, Opcco6.
The share offer document states that “in the context of an equity investment in a Scottish football club participating in the Scottish Championship in the current economic climate, you should not expect any income from, or return on, your investment”. Shares can only be sold to directors and other shareholders of the club – essential meaning there is no active market for the shares.
Livingston has about £1.5 million of debt in the form of loans from directors and fans. A bulk of those loans will be transferred to equity in the new company, reducing the debt figure to about £400,000.
New shareholders could hold as much as 60% of the club if the share offer is fully subscribed.
Director John Ward, part of the Oppco6 consortium, said: “All funds raised shall go towards increasing the playing squad budget and a future all-weather surface.
“None of the monies raised under this scheme are going to pay off historic debt, which is mostly being converted to club stock.”
Livingston have had a roller-coaster ride over the past 15 seasons, winning promotion to the Scottish Premier League in 2001 and qualifying for the UEFA Cup in their first season in the top division after finishing third behind Celtic and Rangers. The club won the League Cup in 2004.
The same year it hit financial problems and was relegated to the Scottish First Division in 2006. In July 2009 the club was again in financial difficulty and on the verge of liquidation before a deal was struck. Livingston were subsequently demoted to the Scottish Third Division but have achieved consecutive promotions to return to the second tier.
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