Union Saint-Gilloise (USG) and the Look&Fin platform announced the launch of a "crowdlending" campaign (a loan in the form of participative financing) for the sum of €2.5 million on Thursday.
This sum will be used to make an advance payment of tax on the profits made by the club in 2024. Just over an hour after the campaign opened, USG has already collected the full €2.5 million.
Loans and share buy-backs are common practice in Belgian football, enabling clubs to pay off debts or anticipate tax liabilities. The model proposed on Thursday by USG for an advance tax payment is more original this time. The Belgian vice-champion club turned to the Look&Fin platform to raise €2.5 million in one week through a participative financing loan.
Investors can participate with a minimum of €100 from this Thursday until 20 June. The club then plans to repay the loan within three months at a gross interest rate of 6% per annum.
Union Saint-Gilloise's Victor Boniface celebrates after scoring against German side Union Berlin, Thursday 09 March 2023 in Berlin, Germany. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
The loan is secured by a debt owed to German club Bayer Leverkusen, who are due to pay a further instalment on the transfer of Victor Boniface, who arrived in Germany in the summer of 2023 for an estimated €20.1 million.
"We want to innovate and show that not only do we pay our taxes as quickly as possible, but that we also find the most flexible financing solutions," explained Philippe Bormans, CEO of Union Saint-Gilloise, in a press release.
The Brussels-based club closed its 2022-2023 financial year with an after-tax profit of almost €3 million. Chairman Alex Muzio told La Dernière Heure last winter that he expected "a new profit in the 2023-2024 accounts," thanks to the transfers made over the last three seasons.
