May 20 – Gricha Ganchev, one of Bulgaria’s richest businessmen and a former owner of CSKA Sofia, has now parted ways with a second club Bulgarian club, Litex Lovech, saying he will give his shares and the assets of the second division club to the Lovech Municipality free of charge.
At the beginning of May, the Ganchev family announced that they were also stepping down from their ownership of CSKA Sofia.
The Lovech-sport 96 company, the owner of FC Litex, also owns the club’s city stadium, a training base with its adjacent fields and buildings, as well as 100% of the club’s shares.
The Municipal Council in Lovech, and city mayor, Stracimir Petkov, said that they still have to accept the offer. If they do, the club will change its name.
Assets include the city stadium with 13 associated buildings, a training base of 113 acres and another field nearby, as well as a swimming pool.
Petkov said that Litex Commerce company has owned the Lovech football club since 1996, with Lovech-sport 96 owning and managing the stadium and the training sports base – 51% is owned by Litex Commerce and 49% by the Municipality .
“The joint venture saw with the Municipality began in 1996 and is divided into three and now in this way we receive the assets back as a donation. The company was created with the aim of developing sports in the city and investment by Litex Commerce, and the Municipality participates with its properties. Litex now donates the properties to us, resulting in the termination of the joint venture. We will receive one of the properties with encumbrances – a little over BGN 100,000 (€50 000) but the tax assessment of the stadium facilities is BGN 138 000 (€ 69 000). All other properties are free. We acquire them with the improvements in them,” said Petkov.
More maintenance funds will be needed for the stadium, but Petkov said the municipality can deal with this. By taking control of these properties, he said the football club would not become a municipal-controlled business.
“It will take a lot of money to maintain and administer it. I am already conducting such conversations for members of the new management board, which will make decisions. People from business will also enter it,” added Stracimir Petkov.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1722045972labto1722045972ofdlr1722045972owedi1722045972sni@o1722045972fni1722045972