September 5 – Chelsea have been cleared by the Premier League for the £76.5 million sale of two hotels to a sister company to help the club stay compliant with financial regulations known as profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
In the club’s accounts for the 2022-23 financial year published in April, it was revealed that the west London club made a loss of £89.9 million, but that figure would have been £166.4 million had they not sold the Millennium and Copthorne hotels adjacent to their stadium.
The two properties changed ownership from Chelsea FC Holdings Ltd to BlueCo 22 Properties Ltd. Both companies are subsidiaries of Chelsea’s holding company, BlueCo 22 Ltd.
While UEFA and the English Football League ban such sales, the Premier League allows them to take place subject to an assessment of their “fair market value”.
Some of Chelsea’s Premier League rivals were apparently sceptical about exploiting the ‘loophole’. But the Premier League voted against barring the type of transactions to sister companies at their Annual General Meeting in June when only 11 clubs apparently supported the proposal. A minimum of 14 votes was needed for the rule to change.
Under PSR, clubs are permitted to have a maximum of £105 million in losses over a three-year period. Certain costs including infrastructure spending and investment in women’s football are allowed to be deducted.
Chelsea recently used the amortisation of player contracts – many up to eight years in length – to give them space for their high transfer spending without breaching financial sustainability rules. UEFA has subsequently closed that loophole with a five-year limit.
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