It was banned for years, but now it is a reality: KV Mechelen has majority shareholders together with Philippe van Esch | KV Michelin

At the end of 2023, Van Esch and Jos Slice, a minority shareholder, increased the capital by four million euros. This was necessary to keep the club financially healthy and comply with the terms of the license. The cash injection also has another consequence. Van Esch sees his shares increase from 44 to 53 percent, thus becoming Malinwa's majority shareholder.

The club's articles of association had long stipulated a ban on majority shareholders (Dieter Benninks was given an exception during Operation Clean Hands, ed.), although this rule was scrapped when Van Esch entered at the start of 2023. The Dutchman even did so a little earlier, in December. 2022, there has already been a proposal to acquire more than 50% of the shares. This led to heated discussions. After more than a year, Van Esch finally got the hang of it.

What about supporter participation? Well, fans will see some additional dilution of their 4% shares. Two of the five seats on the Supervisory Board will remain, but will remain purely acting.

There was some news from behind the barracks. In the 2022-2023 season, KV Mechelen suffered a record loss of about 9.5 million euros. This is due, among other things, to long-term contracts, too much basic income and too little trading income. Malinoa wants to achieve a draw this season, although that will be difficult without transfer income.