Nick Candy says funds ready to bid for Chelsea Football Club

New York

UK property developer Nick Candy said he has funding in place to make an offer for Chelsea Football Club and is in talks over the final composition of his bid consortium.

Candy said in an interview on Monday (Mar 14) that he has held discussions with potential partners including British businessman Martin Broughton about teaming up to bid for Chelsea.

The 2 men are among a growing list of suitors circling the west London team, the sale of which has been complicated by the sanctioning of its Russian owner Roman Abramovich last week.

Both Candy and Broughton are Chelsea fans. Candy said he expects the club to be sold within 2 months.

"This deal will be done way before the start of the new season," Candy said. He said he wouldn't be "the backer with the largest cheque" in the consortium, but he was the person that could bring everyone together for a successful bid.

Broughton is a former chairman of Liverpool Football Club who helped pave the way for the club's takeover by Fenway Sports Group in 2010. Chelsea is one of the better-known franchises in the world's most popular sport.

That's in no small part thanks to the hundreds of millions of pounds that Abramovich has spent on top players and coaches over nearly 2 decades of ownership - an investment that has brought the club 21 trophies.

Yet Abramovich's ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime prompted the UK government to place far-reaching restrictions on the running of the club, creating uncertainty over its sale.

Candy said 3 parties will determine the future of the football team: the bidder, Abramovich and the UK government. He said Abramovich had "been sweet and kind over the years", allowing his family to hold a memorial service for his father at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium and scatter some of his ashes on the pitch.

Chelsea fans would have a role in the running of the club if his consortium wins, Candy said.

As a property developer, Candy would be expected to play an important role in any redevelopment of Stamford Bridge in the event of a successful takeover. In 2019, he said he was considering a bid for Capital & Counties, a real estate group that owns sites in west London, including in the Earl's Court area close to Chelsea. In the end, he didn't make a bid.

Candy also conceived the luxury One Hyde Park apartment complex in Knightsbridge with his brother Christian. It was developed by Christian's CPC Group and a vehicle owned by Qatar's Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber al Thani. BLOOMBERG