Payment or settlement with ordinary creditors remains the practical path for Hércules to avoid cascading problems that could threaten the club’s future. The blue-and-white team is set to pay 870,000 euros to ordinary creditors this Thursday, in line with the 2013 deal, amended four years later this season. There is no room for further extensions, and this season’s creditors’ arrangement requires attention to a total debt nearing seven million euros over five years.
As of June 30, the entity was obligated to make the first payment of 870,000 euros, a commitment dating back to 2017 to prevent creditor complaints that could force dissolution. Hércules has pursued extensions and year-by-year relaxations in hopes of returning to professional football and managing debt with fewer obstacles. Yet the club ended up worsening its position by dropping into the fourth tier of Spanish football, a level with virtually no income.
Sporting setbacks now push Enrique Ortiz to seek ways to relieve the financial burden, including renegotiating with unpaid creditors to reduce or restructure the amount. This happens amid limited alternatives, as court systems offer little else once the legal track proceeds. There remains a real risk that liquidation could be pursued by some creditors, though the entity continues to explore strategies to stretch the process and keep operations going as long as possible.
walk in circles
The club faces a payment of 871,000 euros, about 13 percent of the normal loan amount of roughly 6.7 million euros. This payment represents the first term of the five-year plan that was signed. The schedule requires 13 percent payments for the first two years, 14 percent for the third year, and 30 percent for the final two years.
Parallel to these financial steps, the club is preparing 18 statements for the Alicante Investigation Judge nine, following a lawsuit against Hércules’ leadership for alleged obstruction of execution and for increasing assets. The financial institution acting as the club’s Foundation and sponsor has been summoned for testimony. The defendants were called to testify between July 18 and July 21 of the current year. Specifically, on the 18th, Hércules and the club’s leadership mentioned in the Prosecutor’s complaint were to be questioned, along with the secretary of the council and the representative of the Caja Rural and the director of a local branch. On the 21st, José María Caruana was scheduled to announce the secretary of the council and other financial representatives.
Enrique Ortiz’s management debated at regular city council meeting
A proposal to the City Council General Assembly may be submitted this Thursday by Compromís and United for a joint text urging the departure of the businessman. The plan calls for the municipal body to demand that the owners pay debts and consider selling the club to restore sporting and corporate stability. The text also urges a union among the municipality’s leaders to push for sound financial management. The local PSOE administration and business leaders have pressed Hércules to join forces to stabilize finances, though the mayor dismissed the proposal as demagogic, noting that the City Council lacks authority over a sociedad anónima deportiva.
The three left-wing factions aligned with the public sentiment that Ortiz’s leadership has led Hércules into a difficult period could not sign a unified institutional declaration. The proposals from Compromís and United We Can were put to a vote with the following points: to show solidarity with fans disenchanted by the current corporate and sporting drift, to urge responsible action from current owners and directors, and to consider transferring ownership to a party capable of addressing contractual debts with public institutions while restoring the club’s standing, and to forward the agreement to the property holders.
Cristóbal Filgueira named the team’s new physical trainer
Hércules announced the addition of Cristóbal Filgueira Sollaes as the physical trainer for the first team for the upcoming season. Filgueira previously contributed to the coaching staff of the newly appointed Hércules coach, who led a Galician squad to promotion into the First RFEF last season. The club signed Filgueira for one season, marking the third coaching staff addition after the arrivals of Paco Peña and the named head coach.