Second Charlton Sponsor Hits Problems - 25/09/2007

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to lose one sponsor looks like misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness. Charlton Athletic took a hit when retail group all:sports foundered. Now their current sponsors, Valencian real estate group Llanera, are in trouble as a result of the international credit squeeze. The company has been in emergency talks with creditors to stave off bankruptcy. The company blamed a slowdown in the Spanish property market for its predicament. Charlton cannot be entirely blamed for choosing Llanera as a backer, particularly as the deal came with a loose link with leading La Liga club Valencia. Only a few months ago Llanera was being hailed as an innovative and ambitious real estate group with a bright future. I'm not sure that I was entirely reassured by a photograph in the Charlton programme showing the chief executive of the club and of Llanera standing in a field where apartments were to be built. The Charlton season ticket holder who won an apartment that was still on an architect's plan must be rueing his change of fortune.

The underlying problem is that sales of holiday homes on Spain's overpriced and overbuilt Mediterranean coast have slumped. Hence, Llanera's plans to persuade its creditors to accept land in payment for its debts may not work. In sponsoring Charlton, Llanera was seeking to appeal to a relatively affluent south-eastern market that might be interested in its apartments. Coincidentally, I have just returned from Valencia on business and I sensed some resentment at the number of British expats in the area, even though they live in clearly defined coastal communities rather than the city itself. In some cases they have used their votes as EU citizens in local elections to infiltrate local councils. It is believed that the sponsorship deal was worth £6.6m before the South-East London club was relegated from the Premiership. Charlton have not yet made any statement on the situation and are presumably awaiting developments.