Celtic shares soar after Champions League success
Celtic shares soared 15% today after the Scottish football club qualified for the second stage of the Champions League for the first time.
Celtic beat Manchester United 1-0 in a dramatic night at Parkhead to secure progress into the knockout stage of Europe’s premier club competition.
The result could be worth millions of pounds in prize money, gate receipts, television and sponsorship deals – sending shares in the Glasgow club to their highest level since March.
Analyst Stan Lock, of Brewin Dolphin, said: “The shares are up because of the result last night. They are in the next stage of the competition and if you get there, there is more money. There is a few million pounds involved and the further you go the bigger it gets.”
The rise in the share price added about £4m to the value of Celtic, which now has a market capitalisation of £28m.
Mr Lock said the shares were “very cheap” when compared with other football clubs. West Ham United was sold for £85m yesterday.
Mr Lock said: “Because of the result last night and the next stage of the Champions League, people might start to look at Celtic and think its shares are very cheap.”
However, he said it was unlikely anyone would launch a takeover bid for Celtic in the aftermath of the result because of the rise in value.
The club is 40% owned by Irish entrepreneur Dermot Desmond, who sold London City Airport for a reported £750m last month and owns online betting firm Netdaq.
Celtic has not qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League since it was launched in 1992. But the Glasgow giant was the first British club to win its predecessor, the European Cup, in 1967.
