Togbe Afede XIV, Executive Board Chairman of Accra Hearts of Oak, says the board has decided to float additional shares to help raise funds to deal with the club’s debt. He said this at the club’s 5th Annual General Meeting, which was held on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the Civil Service Auditorium in Accra. According to Togbe Afede XIV, the generation of additional revenue would help clean the club’s books, which was highly indebted due to ongoing infrastructure works. ‘The construction of the Pobiman project, in addition to the huge operational cost of running the club, have had a negative impact on the club’s finances. ‘The traditional source of revenue to the club (gate proceeds) has been very negligible compared to the huge running cost. ‘Other revenue sources, including sponsorships, have not been as expected. The above factors have worsened the club’s reliance on SAS for survival,’ he said. Togbe Afede noted that the intention to undertake the additional floatation of shares process was done in 2017, but the unfortunate development in the football sector disrupted its plans. ‘We shall soon come up with a roadmap for the exercise and, therefore, urge you to prepare to patronise the issue. The proceeds from the share issue will be used to fund, among other things, loans and new investments in infrastructure,’ he said. Togbe Afede was hopeful that the ‘issue of rights’ would be done before the club’s Annual General Meeting which is expected to take place in February 2024. He stated that this strategy would help the club meet the financial fair play requirements and also enhance its revenue sources.
Source: Ghana News Agency