Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph reports that a British tycoon is readying a Chelsea takeover bid, rumoured to be around £2.5 billion. The club has been placed on the market by current owner Roman Abramovich following pressure on him to sell in light of the war in Ukraine, and reported links between the Russian oligarch and President Vladimir Putin.
£2.5 Billion Offer Incoming as British Tycoon Readying Chelsea Takeover
Property developer Nick Candy weighs up £2.5 billion bid for Chelsea – and says he plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge into 'world-class stadium'. @Tom_Morgs and @Matt_Law_DT report.https://t.co/LImhlgG5Jl
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) March 9, 2022
Property Developer Nick Candy
Abramovich has owned Chelsea for 19 years but his tenure is now coming to a close after he decided that the sale is in the best interests of the club. British property developer Nick Candy is the man said to be readying a bid to be placed by the end of the week commencing March 7.
Candy is a Chelsea fan and is wanting to get a number of American investors on board to allow him to launch an official bid for the club. Abramovich values the club at £3 billion but Candy is short of that figure with any bid likely to be nearer to £2.5 billion.
Abramovich Needs Quick Sale
Whilst Abramovich has said that there is no rush to sell the club, that is not strictly the case anymore with the UK Government potentially issuing sanctions against the Russian-Israeli owner in the next week. This might make the £2.5 billion bid more acceptable than if time were on Abramovich’s side.
A spokesman for Candy has confirmed via the Mail online he is looking to organise a consortium to buy the club.
“Nick Candy is actively exploring a number of options for a potential bid for Chelsea Football Club. Any bid would be made in conjunction with another party (or consortium) and we have serious interest from several international partners.”
Chelsea Takover to be Completed by Chelsea Fan?
The spokesman went on to explain that Candy has a huge love for Chelsea making him an ideal candidate to take the club forward.
They added: “Mr Candy has a huge affinity with Chelsea. His father was asked to play for the club and he has been watching matches at Stamford Bridge since the age of four. The club deserves a world-class stadium and infrastructure and Mr Candy’s unique expertise and background in real estate would be a hugely valuable asset to delivering this vision.”
Stadium Rebuild
Mr Candy is keen to rebuild Stamford Bridge and take on the plans that were announced in 2015 to build a new 60,000 seater stadium with safe standing on the site of the current ground. The plans are expected to follow a similar path as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with regeneration around the area for business and new homes also part of the plans.
The planning permission has however since expired and this means that the cost of resubmitting and carrying out the plans could be restrictive to any prospective bidder who is unlikely to have the same amount of disposable income as had been had by Abramovich.
If Candy can get his investors on board then he could well be the next owner of Chelsea. Whether he can bring the success that the outgoing has over the last 19 years though will remain to be seen.
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