The Premier League has cleared the deal which saw Chelsea sell two hotels to a sister company in a transaction worth £76.5million ($100.5m, €90.8m).
Chelsea’s accounts for the financial year ended June 2023 revealed they had sold the Copthorne and Millennium hotels outside Stamford Bridge to BlueCo 22 Properties Ltd.
BlueCo 22 Properties Ltd is a subsidiary of BlueCo 22 Ltd, which is the holding company that also owns Chelsea.
The club’s accounts detailed that they made a loss of £89.9million in 2022-23, which would have been £166.4m without the combined £76.5m sales.
Chelsea noted at the time that they had appointed two independent valuers to assess their valuation of the hotels and that no issues were raised.
Following the fair market value process conducted by the Premier League, the £76.5million has been adjusted, although neither party is confirming the amount.
If the Premier League found that the transaction did not represent fair market value, then there would be a conversation between themselves and the club around what the actual value is.
That could mean a £40million-a-year deal, for example, gets reduced to £35m-a-year following the league’s process.
The £76.5million sale in the 2022-23 financial year would have helped the club comply with the Premier League financial regulations that allow clubs to lose £105m over a three-year period.
Despite the transaction raising eyebrows inside the boardrooms of other top-flight sides, not enough clubs voted to put a stop to clubs being able to sell fixed assets to themselves at the Premier League’s Annual General Meeting in June.
Neither UEFA nor the English Football League allows such transactions.
GO DEEPER
Inside Chelsea’s transfer window: Sancho and ‘Net-Felix’ in, no Osimhen – and the ‘bomb squad’
(John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)
