Václav Bartoš, the current owner of FC Zbrojovka Brno, has sold a minority stake in the club, which will later increase to 61 percent. As part of the transaction, there is also a pre-emptive right to the remaining stake. The Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold another five percent of the shares.
„I am pleased that after several negotiations with people from the regional business sphere, I have managed to achieve a new ownership structure that is capable of giving the club the momentum it needs for development,“ said Václav Bartoš, Chairman of the Board.
Bartoš has owned Zbrojovka for ten years and will remain with the club to assist the new investor in getting started. The goal of the management is to return to the top league in the next season, as Brno was relegated as the last team in the table this year.
The new investor, Portiva, is engaged in renewable energy and digital services and operates in seven European countries. They have no experience in football and plan to leave the management of the club to professionals. The sports section will be overseen by Zdeněk Psotka, who recently joined the club from the Czech Football Association, where he was the technical director.
„We see Zbrojovka as a key symbol of Brno with significant potential that unfortunately has not been realized in the long term. We hope that this will change thanks to our hard work and that football pride will return to Brno,“ said Pavel Svoreň, Executive Director of Portiva.
The club also plans to intensify negotiations with the city leadership regarding the construction of a new stadium.
In terms of sporting success, Bartoš‘ era was not successful. Zbrojovka only finished in the top half of the first league table once and was relegated four times.
The new season will start with a match against Vlašim on Monday, where Zbrojovka will announce further information about the changes in the club at a press conference.
