MessiInter Miami player and former FC Barcelona striker, appears as president of the board of Rostower Socimi Building in documents published by the Portfolio Stock Exchange, a small European alternative market, according to the Reuters agency.
The sole shareholder of Edificio Rostower is Messi’s family investment vehicle, Limecu España 2010, according to the documents.
But the fund has informed the stock market that it plans to open to new investors, Portfolio Stock Exchange CEO Santiago Navarro told Reuters, without giving further details.
Messi’s fund is not yet listed.
The exchange, launched in 2023 and supervised by the Bank of Spain, only allows trading when a company seeks to sell shares or increase its capital, Navarro said.
The approach allows for greater flexibility and control, as well as lower costs compared to traditional initial public offerings, he said, adding that any purchase order must first be approved by shareholders.
Rostower Building did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its IPO, which took place on Monday.
The company owns seven hotels in Spain and Andorra, three office spaces and five apartments in Spain, as well as apartments in London and Paris, according to the documents.
Founded in 2013, the company made losses of 1.7 million euros in 2023, according to records published by the Portfolio Stock Exchange.
Most of the company’s investments are in the Spanish region of Catalonia, where Messi, 37, moved in 2000 when he was 13 to join the youth ranks of FC Barcelona.
He lived there until 2021, when he unexpectedly left FC Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain after the heavily indebted Catalan club said it could not afford to retain him due to LaLiga’s financial fair play rules.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has long said he plans to return to live in Barcelona with his wife and three children when he retires from football.
Messi’s wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, is the vice president of the board of directors. The other members of the council are Alfonso Nebot, who heads Messi’s family wealth management office, and Ramón Adell, a director of Spanish energy company Naturgy NTGY.MC.
Last month, the Spanish government announced its intention to increase the corporate tax rate paid by real estate investment funds, which is lower than that of other companies.
But so far it has not been able to gather support in the Congress of Deputies for its approval.