Barça undertakes a new financial maneuver: it issues bonds for 424 million to refinance the construction of the new Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona announced this Friday that it has closed a €424 million bond issue to refinance a significant portion of the debt related to Espai Barça , the €1.45 billion urban development project that includes the new Spotify Camp Nou .

With the collaboration of Goldman Sachs, the project's regular financial agent, the Catalan club has converted, "through the same existing financial structure," a total of €424 million in debt used for the construction of the new stadium, which was originally due to mature in 2028.

The average interest rate on the refinanced amount is 5.19%. Repayments will begin in 2033 and be fully paid off by 2050. It represents "the long-term refinancing of more than 40% of Espai Barça's debt," according to the club.

A transaction that has been possible, as FC Barcelona maintains, thanks to the "strong demand" it is able to generate among financial investors, "as well as the positive trend in the entity's economic situation," which has reduced the risk premium "almost by half compared to the initial transaction issued in 2023," reports Efe.

In this context, the reclassification of the club's credit rating from "stable" to "positive," which the financial valuation firm Morningstar DBRS announced 10 days ago, is understandable.

August 10, at Gamper

The return to the new Spotify Camp Nou, scheduled for August 10th for the Joan Gamper Trophy, albeit with only approximately 60% of its capacity, is the culmination of a project whose financing was finalized in April 2023.

A transaction that, Barça noted, guaranteed "the start of the renovation work" on the new Blaugrana stadium, "complying with the criteria approved in the referendum, without any property guarantee from the club, a mortgage on the stadium, or any cost to members."

This transaction was carried out with a total of 20 investors and valued at €1.45 billion. It featured a flexible financial structure that included various tranches of 5, 7, 9, 20, and 24 years, which were refinanceable and included a grace period.

It's worth remembering that FC Barcelona will begin returning the money from the Espai Barça once the Spotify Camp Nou construction is completed, with the income generated by the stadium, which is expected to be approximately €247 million .