Football fans of German club FC St. Pauli have acquired a majority stake in its stadium by joining the country’s first fan-owned co-op.
Around 20,000 fans joined the new registered co-op, FCSP eG, through buying shares worth over €27m (£22.5m). Each share was €850 euro; with €750 for the share itself, €32 management costs and €68 for the building of reserves for the co-operative. The co-op structure means that each member will only have a single vote regardless of how many shares they have purchased.
All Bundesliga clubs must follow a 50+1 rule, which requires them to be majority-owned by their fans.
While many Bundesliga clubs may have outsourced the management of their professional teams to external investors or companies, FC St. Pauli is structured as a registered association, which means it is still controlled by its members, not external owners. As such, setting up a fans’ co-operative seemed like the next logical step.
“The co-operative is the perfect model for FC St. Pauli,” said club president Oke Göttlich. ”It gives members and fans a stake under application of a general democratic rule – everyone has one vote irrespective of the number of shares purchased. It’s the most important project for FC St. Pauli since the Millerntor Stadium new build. We aim to show that not only is a different kind of football possible but also a different kind of financing.”
Having recently been promoted back to the Bundesliga from second-division champion last season, FC St Pauli wanted to raise capital to be able to compete with the other clubs. The club had set a target of €30m through the sale of shares in the co-op.
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“The injection of new capital via a co-operative is much more relatable to members than a spin-off of the professional football section, an involvement of investors or the sale of merchandise rights,” said Wilken Engelbracht, FC St. Pauli commercial director and member of the co-operative supervisory board. “The only question really is why no one thought of it before.”
“We have the great honour of being responsible for the first co-operative in the German professional game,” said Andreas Borcherding, chair of the co-op’s managing board.
The move has inspired another Bundesliga club, FC Schalke 04, to set up its own co-op to strengthen the sustainability of the club without becoming dependent on an external financial backer. In FC Schalke 04’s case, only its 190,000 registered club members will be able to acquire shares in the co-op. The club aims to use some of the capital raised via the co-op to repay legacy debts.
“The purpose of the Registered Co-operative Society is to strengthen FC Schalke 04,” the club said in an online notice. “It operates independently of the structures of our registered club (e.V.). With the combined strength of all co-operative members, the club aims to be freed from financial legacy burdens and positioned for an independent future.
“The first project involves the Veltins-Arena. In short: by issuing co-operative shares, the Registered Co-operative Society raises capital, which will then be used to purchase stadium shares. The e.V. will use the funds generated to reduce its legacy debts. This immediately reduces costs, specifically interest and repayments, and gives the club more room to manoeuvre.
“The great part is that the stadium will remain in Schalke’s hands in the future. It is important to emphasise that this project is just the beginning, ideally the start of a series of further ideas and benefits.”
A statement from the FCSP eG managing board added: ”Although the Schalke project looks a bit different, we think it’s a great step because we’re convinced by the co-operative model and are happy to see additional associates in the football world.”
Fans had until the end of January to acquire shares in the co-op.
Among those buying shares was former Bayern Munich player Uli Hoeness, who had previously helped the club by organising a benefit game for it in 2003.
FC St Pauli players were also able to join the co-op and among those who chose to do so was its men’s team captain Jackson Irvine.
The co-op’s first general meeting will take place in June.
