How to buy shares in Celtic

Founded in 1887, Celtic is one of the most successful clubs in Scotland having won the Scottish league championship an impressive 51 times.

Nicknamed the “bhoys” or “Hoops”, the famous green and white outfit is its trade at Celtic Park in Parkhead Glasgow, and is one of just five teams in the world to have amassed over 100 trophies in its locker.

With a valuation of £94m Celtic, was ranked 48th in the list of most valuable football brands by Brand Finance in July 2020. The largest shareholder is Irish businessman Dermot Desmond, who effectively has control of the club.

Celtic is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and has the ticker name of CCP. This guide will explain how to invest in the club and the risks and rewards of doing so.

Open a free Degiro account now

• Great for investors looking to buy and hold shares
• Some of the lowest fees in the market
• Access to millions of shares in international markets
• Easy to buy and manage shares online
• Capital at risk, investments may fall

Go to site
More Info

How to buy shares in Celtic

Celtic is a Public Limited Company (PLC) and it is listed on the London Stock Exchange. This means buying shares is fairly straightforward. Simply follow the steps below to become a shareholder.

1. First you need to open a share trading account.
2. Deposit funds into your account.
3. Find Celtic on your chosen trading platform. Try searching its ticker name of CCP if you can’t find it.
4. Choose the amount you want to invest.
5. Invest! Once you have placed your deal you now have shares in Celtic.

Celtic share price

When it comes to investing, the share price of listed football clubs should in theory be driven by the same as any other share; future profit outlook, as well as supply and demand.

Despite missing out on winning the Scottish league championship for a tenth year in a row in the 2020/21 season, Celtic has dominated domestic football for the last decade.

However, relinquishing the Scottish Championship to arch-rival Rangers has been a jolt, leading to manager Neil Lennon leaving the club. After a spell searching for a new manager, in June it was announced Ange Postecoglou had taken the reins. The former boss of Australia’s national team joined from Yokohama F Marinos in Japan on a 12-month rolling contract.

However, Nick Train, a fund manager at Lindsell Train Limited – a substantial shareholder in Celtic – said short term performance on the field is not a major concern to him when investing.

“The allure to us of live sports franchises is the loyal fan base that is more valued by advertisers than almost any other entertainment medium,” said Train. “Out of a universe of 12 quoted soccer clubs we own three unique franchises; Juventus, Manchester United and Celtic, which all could be readily described as national icons.

“Celtic’s heritage stretches back to 1887 and, with Rangers, dominates Scottish football. Its stadium draws regular crowds of ~60,000 supporters matching the top English Premier League clubs.”

Take a look at Celtic’s share price performance over the last three months on the graph below. It’s always important to remember past performance is no indication of future results.

Risks of buying Celtic Shares

If the Covid crisis has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected. When it comes to football, the thought of watching an entire season with no fans in the stadiums would have been barely believable two years ago, but it happened.

While the long-term consequences of the Covid shutdown on football clubs is still uncertain, for investors such as Train, when it comes to taking a stake in the world’s largest sports franchises, it is crucial to try and shut out the noise.

Train adopts what is known as a long-term approach to investing. This means when he buys a company, he is prepared to wade out any short-term market moves (known as volatility) and invest for a period of three or more years. This means results on the field and recent scandals such as the European Super League, do not not overly influence his decision to buy or sell. This is something he says all investors should bear in mind when considering buying shares in a football club.

Celtic history

Boasting 51 domestic league titles, 40 Scottish Cups and 19 Scottish League Cups, Celtic has a long history of domestic success. But in 1967, under legendary manager Jock Stein, the club won its most prestigious prize, when the Hoops became the first British team to win the European Cup.

Beating Internazionale (Inter Milan) 2-1 in Lisbon, Portugal, this team is affectionately referred to as the ‘Lisbon lions’. Remarkably, every member of this team was born within 30 miles of Parkhead. Celtic remains the only Scottish team to have reached the final of Europe’s flagship club event.

Bottom line

While the thought of investing in Celtic might seem a fun idea, it must be remembered these are not novelty shares, you are buying real shares in a real company. This can bring both risks – namely you won’t get all your money back – and rewards – namely you might make some money if you wish to sell your investment later.

However, like watching the beautiful game, investing in football franchises offers something unique and valuable for investors. It might not quite match a stoppage time winner to beat fierce rivals Rangers, but for those willing to be patient, the rewards might prove to be just as exciting.

Compare share dealing platforms that offer Celtic shares

Here are some of the providers that offer Celtic shares. You should be able to invest with any provider that lets you buy shares on the London Stock Exchange.

Sort by:

Name	Product	Price per trade	Frequent trader rate	Platform fees	Brand description
eToro Free Stocks		£0	N/A	£0	Capital at risk. 0% commission but other fees may apply. The minimum deposit with eToro is $50.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
IG Share Dealing		UK: £8 US: £10 EU: 0.1% (min €10)	UK: £3 US: £0 EU: 0.1% (min €10)	£0	IG is good for experienced traders, and offers learning resources for beginners, all with wide access to shares, ETFs and funds. Capital at risk.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Hargreaves Lansdown Fund and Share Account		£11.95	£5.95	£0	Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK's number one platform for private investors, with the depth of features you'd expect from an established platform. The minimum deposit with HL is £1. Capital at risk.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Degiro Share Dealing		UK: £1.75 + 0.014% (max £5) US: €0	N/A	£0	Degiro is widely seen as one of the best low-cost share brokers, for people who are looking to trade regularly. The minimum deposit with Degiro is £0. Capital at risk.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
interactive investor Trading Account		£7.99 (with one free trade per month)	£0	£9.99 per month	Interactive Investor offers everything most investors need. Its flat fees makes it pricey for small portfolios, but cheap for big ones. The minimum deposit with ii is £0. Capital at risk.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

loading

Compare up to 4 providers

Clear selection

Compare

Other clubs you can buy shares in

Celtic isn’t the only football team you can buy shares in – you can also buy shares in clubs such as Manchester United, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund amongst others. See the table below for all the current football clubs that you can buy shares in.

• Is Celtic in debt?

  No, the club is solvent. To the year end, 30 June, 2020, Celtic’s results revealed total liabilities of £62m versus total assets of £144m.

• How much is Celtic worth?

  As at April 2021, Celtic’s market capitalisation was £120m. According to Celtic’s interim report for the six months to 31st December 2020, the club revealed a pre-tax loss of almost £6m and a decrease in revenue of almost 24%. The report showed revenues of £40.7m, down from £53.3m in 2019, and a loss before taxation of £5.9m – where there had been a profit of £24.4m in 2019.

• Who owns Celtic?

  Celtic is a listed-company. The largest shareholder is Irish businessman Dermot Desmond, who effective controls the business due to owning 35% of the shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 19% and 10%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.