Girondins de Bordeaux agree one-euro sale to Park Bench in bid to avoid liquidation | OneFootball

Girondins de Bordeaux have signed a sale agreement with British investment fund Park Bench, the club said in a statement. Concluded for a symbolic one euro with the assumption of debts, the deal is intended to help the administratively relegated side avoid liquidation.

The prospective owners are due to be heard shortly by the LFNA’s financial control commission. It must validate the ownership change and the 2026-2027 budget to let Bordeaux start in Régional 1, the sixth tier.

A hearing is also due at the commercial court, which had set Thursday as the deadline to seek termination of the existing plan, the first step towards liquidation. The court must now approve a continuation plan extended from 10 to 12 years, with debt cut from 26 to 13 million euros.

Park Bench is owned by English investors James Bord and Jérémy Green and American Evan Sofer, who linked with Sparta Capital to bid for the six-time French champions provided they stayed in N1, the fourth tier. Relegation to the regional level after exhausting all appeals did not deter Park Bench, which stayed in contact with the club and the court.

To secure the takeover, Park Bench reached terms with creditors including US fund Fortress, state bodies AGS, TVA and Urssaf, and the Swiss former coach Vladimir Petkovic, dismissed in early 2022, who had claimed about 15 million euros. The fund should be able to pay September salaries on time.

Owner since 2021, businessman Gerard Lopez has waived his clawback clause. If approvals follow at the commercial court and the LFNA board, Bordeaux hope to start their Régional 1 season on 17 October against Bayonne’s reserves, with five matches to make up.

Source: Le Progres

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”