April 5 – Supporters of Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia have raised over BGN 243,000 (€121,000) to help the club in pay off its debts to the National Revenue Agency (NRA).
A few weeks ago, the clun management opened a special account and appealed to fans to donate money to help repay the club’s tax debts. Every week, Levski announces how the campaign is going, but after the promising start, in the last week the fans have donated just BGN 4,000 (€ 2,000).
Levski owes the NRA more than BGN 11 million (€5.5 million). The club’s accounts have now been frozen and 30% of all income goes towards debt repayment.
In an attempt to repay the huge debts, Levski has also announced that they will offer 10% of the club’s shares to the public. The clubs total share valuations is about BGN 30 million (€15 million). The clubs is offering 3 million shares currently worth BGN 1 (€0.50) each, but putting them on sale BGN 5 (€ 2.5) each, with the objective of increasing the working capital in the club through the issue.
Last week, club owner Nasko Sirakov toured the country, organising fan meetings in some of Bulgaria’s biggest cities to explain the offer. The club has also opened a dedicated phone line and email where fans can ask questions about the share sale.
Levski is also raising funds through the DMS (Donor Message Service) platform, through which anyone who is a subscriber to one of the Bulgarian mobile operators can donate money by sending an SMS to a special number. The campaign started in 2020.
The club will hold a General Shareholders’ Meeting which will be held on April 6 where key decisions for the future of the club will be made, including expected management changes.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1732538824labto1732538824ofdlr1732538824owedi1732538824sni@o1732538824fni1732538824