Olympique Lyonnais Groupama Stadium debt – in the context of Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited’s administration

This article continues the in-depth analysis of Eagle Football Holdings, details of which can be found on this page

On March 27, 2026, Ares utilised a qualifying floating charge, which had been established over the company’s entire undertaking in late 2025, to execute an out-of-court appointment under Paragraph 14 of Schedule B1 to the UK Insolvency Act 1986, appointing Cork Gully as the administrator for Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited. 

It is vital to note that while the parent holding company (Bidco) is in administration, the subsidiary clubs themselves, Botafogo, Olympique Lyonnais, and RWDM Brussels, are not formally considered insolvent under UK law.

Ares is, of course, the main group creditor and as such will be working closely with Cork Gully, to maximise the recovery of its debts. This will largely be solved by the restructuring of the underlying clubs and then ultimately either disposal to other investors or the holding of the clubs as equity investments, normalising their operations and benefiting financially from a future uplift in their re-sale value.

The restructuring of the clubs, and in this case specifically, Olympique Lyonnais may have far reaching implications for other creditors including the investors who funded the Olympique Lyonnais Groupama Stadium.

Ares, might take the view that current funding arrangements for the stadium may require restructuring in order for Ares to maximise the future value of the Eagle Football Holdings Bidco’s ownership of Olympique Lyonnais. That restructuring may take the form of interest payment holidays or write downs of the value of the outstanding loan notes. 

The potential for this is reflected in a credit rating agency, KBRA, placing a “Watch Developing” status on the rating for FCT OL StadCo’s €320 million senior secured notes on 14th April 2026. Here

Olympique Lyonnais, Groupama Stadium debt:

The Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu, on the outskirts of Lyon, is situated across 15 acres and officially opened in January 2016 at a cost of approximately €415 million. Over the decade since opening, OL accumulated a substantial debt load tied to stadium construction, a revolving credit facility, and COVID-era government loans. The total debt amounts to €385 million, to be amortised by 2043 at a rate of 5.83%. Management costs associated with the stadium have surged threefold over the past decade, exacerbated by the challenges first posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

December 2023 refinancing: 

In December 2023, OL completed a landmark refinancing totalling €385 million, the first securitisation ever executed by a French football club. Reed Smith advised OL Groupe and Olympique Lyonnais SASU through the closing of this €385 million refinancing deal, which represents the first securitisation for a French football club. 

The refinancing was split into two distinct instruments:

Tranche 1, €320 million Senior Secured Notes (FCT OL StadCo)

A financing package for a total principal amount of €320 million, amortising over twenty years, structured around a dedicated French securitisation vehicle. The notes are issued by fonds commun de titrisation (FCT) OL StadCo, a newly established FCT, and proceeds of the notes are loaned (the FCT Loan) to the club, with stadium revenues flowing back to StadCo to service its debt obligations. 

Tranche 2, €65 million Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility (RCF)

A five-year term and revolving credit facility totalling €65 million, advanced to OL by a pool of renowned international institutions and arranged by Goldman Sachs. 

The implementation of this global refinancing enabled OL Groupe and its subsidiary Olympique Lyonnais SASU to repay the outstanding long-term stadium debt, its RCF line (Revolving Credit Facility), and the PGE loans contracted during the COVID period. Other long-term subordinated debt was also repaid in subsequent days.

FCT OL StadCo, 

The securitisation vehicle is a French law entity with specific structural protections:

FCT OL StadCo is a French special-purpose securitisation vehicle (fonds commun de titrisation) governed by, inter alia, articles L.214-166-1 to L.214-175-8, L.214-180 to L.214-186, L.231-7 and R.214-217 to R.214-235 of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Code monétaire et financier) and represented by Pristine SAS, a French portfolio management company (société de gestion) duly licensed by the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers) under No. 16000035. StadCo is independent of the corporate structure at Olympique Lyonnais SASU (TeamCo), which owns the football club.

Key structural features:

• Note holders benefit indirectly from an assignment by the club to StadCo over all current and future secured revenues granted by the club and a mortgage over the stadium. The club agrees to host all senior men’s home games at the stadium and relocation would trigger a breach of the FCT loan. 
• The notes are also used to fund a debt service reserve account (DSRA), which is initially sized as 12 months of debt service until it is mathematically impossible for relegation to occur in that season, at which point the DSRA is reduced to a rolling six-month debt service.
• The secured revenues are collected in specially dedicated accounts. The Club acts as servicer and lawful agent of the management company Pristine SAS (acting in the name and on behalf of FCT OL StadCo) to carry out the administration, recovery and collection of these revenues. 
• The notes are fully amortising (mortgage-style) with a final maturity of June 2044 and fixed interest from issuance.

Credit ratings

The notes received dual ratings at issuance:

• KBRA (Europe): BBB+ (Stable Outlook), KBRA considers the structure consistent with appropriate and customary ring-fenced provisions in typical project financings. Under the KBRA rating case, aggregate average and minimum debt service coverage ratios (DSCR) are 3.10x and 2.61x, respectively. 
• DBRS Morningstar: DBRS Ratings GmbH assigned a provisional Issuer Rating of BBB to FCT Olympique Lyonnais StadCo and a provisional credit rating of BBB to its Senior Notes, with all trends Stable. 

Who Are the note holders?

The notes were privately placed, not publicly listed, which means there is no exchange register, no public prospectus filing, and no mandatory disclosure of individual investor names.

What is publicly confirmed:

• The notes were privately placed with leading institutional investors, mainly in Europe and the United States. 
• The securities issued were privately placed in the U.S. and subscribed by leading institutional investors, mostly from the U.S. 
• The arrangement bank/book runner was Goldman Sachs.
• Legal counsel to Goldman Sachs and certain investors was DLA Piper (led by partners Paul Gray, Lewis Gaut, Tony Lopez in London, and Romain Guénin in Paris).
• Legal counsel to OL was Reed Smith (Baptiste Gelpi, Audrey Minnie).

While specific investor names have not been publicly disclosed, based on the profile of this transaction, a 20-year, investment-grade (BBB/BBB+), fixed-rate, fully amortising note privately placed in Europe and the US, the typical buyer universe for such paper would be:

• US life insurance companies (the dominant buyers of 144A/Reg S long-duration infrastructure-style private placements)
• European insurance companies and pension funds (who are major buyers of long-dated, fixed-rate infrastructure debt)
• Asset managers running infrastructure debt or fixed-income credit strategies

The management company of FCT OL StadCo, Pristine SAS (AMF licence No. 16000035), acts as the legal interface between the issuer and noteholders and holds the register of noteholders in its capacity as société de gestion of the FCT under French law.

€65 Million Goldman Sachs bank facility

The five-year term and revolving credit facility totalling €65 million was advanced to OL by a pool of  international institutions and arranged by Goldman Sachs. The specific syndicate members have not been publicly named beyond Goldman Sachs as arranger.

Ares Capital 

Separate from the StadCo notes, Ares Capital Corporation became the most consequential creditor in the broader OL/Eagle Football structures. The Letter Agreement of July 2025 between Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited, Ares Capital Corporation, and Michele Kang aimed to stabilise the company during financial challenges, including avoiding relegation of Olympique Lyonnais to Ligue 2, thanks to €87 million in financing and a €30 million bank guarantee. 

On March 27, 2026, Ares utilised a qualifying floating charge, which had been established over the company’s entire undertaking in late 2025, to execute an out-of-court appointment under Paragraph 14 of Schedule B1 to the UK Insolvency Act 1986, appointing Cork Gully as the administrator for Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited. 

It is vital to note that while the parent holding company (Bidco) is in administration, the subsidiary clubs themselves, Botafogo, Olympique Lyonnais, and RWDM Brussels, are not formally considered insolvent under UK law. 

Crucially, KBRA affirmed and placed on “Watch Developing” status the rating for FCT OL StadCo’s €320 million senior secured notes. The Watch Developing status reflects the recent announcement that OL’s ultimate owner (Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited) has been placed into administration by its majority lender, Ares Capital Corporation. 

As stated at the head of the article, KBRA is monitoring the situation as a change of control could be deemed to have occurred.

Current rating status (May 2026)

KBRA affirms the BBB+ rating but notes that KBRA has also been informed that on 24 June 2025 the DNCG decided to relegate the Club to Ligue 2. This follows an announcement in November 2024 that the Club had been provisionally relegated due to its financial position. However, KBRA subsequently revised its Outlook to Stable from Negative, reflecting the successful appeal by the Club of the DNCG relegation, which ensures it remains in Ligue 1 and is permitted to play in Europe.

The April 2026 Watch Developing placement is the current live status due to the Bidco administration.

Notes for readers:

Because this was a private placement, there is no single public register. Here are the avenues to pursue, in order of practicality:

1. Pristine SAS (Management Company of FCT OL StadCo) As the société de gestion licensed by the AMF, Pristine SAS holds the FCT’s internal registry. Under French law (Code monétaire et financier), it is responsible for managing investor records. Contact: AMF register No. 16000035; you can locate their details on the AMF’s public register at amf-france.org.
2. AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) As the French securities regulator, the AMF oversees FCT vehicles. Regulatory filings related to the FCT, including the règlement du fonds (fund regulations), may be accessible. Search the AMF’s GECO database (https://geco.amf-france.org) under “FCT OL StadCo” or “Olympique Lyonnais StadCo.”
3. KBRA Europe Rating Reports KBRA publishes detailed surveillance reports on the FCT OL StadCo notes, which contain the most granular public disclosure of the structure. Free registration at kbra.com gives access to their published rating reports.
4. D) Morningstar DBRS Similarly, DBRS Morningstar published a presale report (reference: DBRS research ID 422401). Access at dbrsmorningstar.com.
5.  OL Groupe Annual Reports and AMF Regulatory Filings As a publicly listed company on Euronext Paris (ticker: OLG), OL Groupe files annual reports (Document d’enregistrement universel) with the AMF. These contain consolidated debt disclosures, including carrying values and terms of the StadCo notes and the RCF. Accessible via: amf-france.org (regulated information) or the OL Groupe investor relations page.
6. Goldman Sachs (Arranger) Goldman Sachs acted as sole arranger of both tranches. As arranger, they would not publicly disclose the investor book, but in the context of any formal legal proceeding or regulatory investigation, they would be the party holding placement records.
7. Cork Gully / Administration Proceedings Now that Eagle Football Holdings Bidco is in UK administration, Cork Gully was appointed as administrator in London’s High Court on March 27, 2026. Creditor schedules filed in UK administration proceedings at Companies House and the Insolvency Service may reveal related-party debts and creditor identities, though the StadCo noteholders relate to the French FCT structure rather than the UK Bidco. 

Instrument	Amount	Maturity	Rate	Holder Type	Arranger/Agent
FCT OL StadCo Senior Notes	€320m	June 2044	Fixed (5.83% per L’Équipe)	Institutional investors (US & Europe)	Goldman Sachs
Term Loan / RCF	€65m	5 years (2028)	Floating (bank)	Pool of international banks	Goldman Sachs (arranger)