Well-heeled Arsenal supporters optimistic for another title challenge have sent the price of debentures that come with a season ticket at Emirates Stadium rocketing to £25,000.
Fans face a 10-year wait for a season ticket through official channels after the north London club emerged as Manchester City’s biggest rivals for the Premier League.
City A.M. revealed last summer that trading prices for debentures had shot up by 400 per cent in just a few years to £12,500 on the back of Arsenal’s reinvigoration.
And their title challenge last season has only increased demand on London-based Asset Match, where debentures with a season ticket attached are now fetching up to £25,000.
“Going back two or three years, these used to pretty much wipe their face – someone’s laid out £1,500 or £3,000 for a debenture and 10 years on that’s what they trade at – and then all of a sudden we’ve seen this flurry of activity,” said Ben Weaver, business development director of Asset Match.
As recently as 2022, Asset Match completed 23 trades of Arsenal debentures at a combined value of £75,325. Already in 2024, the company has hit 70 trades and passed £1m.
“This is the only time that’s ever happened on our platform,” added Asset Match analyst Warren Won, who said the long wait for season tickets ought to help the debentures hold their value.
“I think people are happy to kind of pay a little bit more in the hope of getting a season ticket and then, with us having the platform to sell it again if they want, they have a bit of comfort that their whole investment isn’t at a loss.”
Asset Match is the only place where the debentures are traded and the club does little to advertise their availability. “If they did, we’d probably be doing 10-fold what we do,” said Weaver.
Arsenal debentures, which cost £1,500 when issued in the 1990s, are not season tickets in themselves but give the holder the right to buy one ahead of each new season.
“Now the season ticket deadline has passed, most people’s only guaranteed way to get into the stadium is by buying a debenture with a season ticket attached,” said Won.
“If you buy a debenture without one, then you’re going to have to wait until next year to apply in May for the following season. So there’s still quite a bit of demand.”
Arsenal finished second in the Premier League last season for the second successive year and reached the Champions League quarter-finals.
They have since strengthened their squad by signing Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori for around £40m from Bologna.
What are Arsenal debentures?
The club issued A and B debentures in 1993 to fund the redevelopment of their former home, Highbury. They are redeemable in 2143 for their initial cost of £1,500 and £1,100 respectively.
Later they issued C and D debentures to help pay for their 2006 move to Emirates Stadium. These also run until 2143 but accrue interest and may be redeemed in 2028 for £9,852 and £6,896.
Asset Match is primarily a platform to trade shares in private companies and is the official marketplace for BrewDog, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton.