Chelsea fans must be part of club's new shareholder base, British fintech demands

The government must ensure that a buyer of Chelsea Football Club guarantees some form of fan ownership, according to the Blues-supporting boss of one of Britain’s leading financial technology platforms.

Sky News has obtained a letter sent by Anand Sambasivan, the co-founder and chief executive of PrimaryBid, to Alex Hickman, the chief business adviser in 10 Downing Street, in which ministers are urged to facilitate “community ownership” of the club.

In the letter, sent on Monday, Mr Sambasivan tells Mr Hickman that the government has a “unique opportunity to give the UK public the ability to take a stake in the success of Chelsea FC” following the sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich.

This move to guarantee supporter ownership could take place either at the time of a takeover or in future, according to the PrimaryBid founder, but !would rebuild loyalty from the community and reconnect the club”.

“You will be aware of the erosion of trust following last year’s European Super League fiasco, and its effect on the franchise value of UK football broadly,” he wrote in the letter, which was copied to the City minister John Glen and Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary.

“The Independent Report into Football Governance, published a few months ago by Tracey Crouch MP, noted that in many cases English clubs start from a position of 0% fan ownership.

“Recognising that Chelsea FC will attract many international bidders we believe that this is an unique opportunity to give the UK public the ability to take a stake in the success of Chelsea FC.”

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Mr Sambasivan added that PrimaryBid had already engaged with a number of the prospective Chelsea bidders whose identities are public and said the principle of fan ownership had been “well-received”.

“We urge you to make community enfranchisement a stipulation of any winning bid,” he wrote.

PrimaryBid has grown to become one of London’s most prominent fintech companies, putting shareholder democracy at the heart of its business model.

Its efforts to ensure some degree of supporter ownership at Chelsea is likely to win the backing of the London Stock Exchange Group, either through a public flotation or a hybrid ownership model.

The battle for the future of Chelsea comes at a sensitive time for the Stamford Bridge club but for the framework of football club ownership and governance more widely.

A number of billionaire American sports franchise-owners are drawing up plans to table offers for the club ahead of a deadline on Friday.

These include Todd Boehly, the LA Dodgers part-owner whose partnership with the London property developer Jonathan Goldstein was revealed by Sky News at the weekend.

Other potential bidders include Nick Candy, the Chelsea-supporting property entrepreneur, and Sir Martin Broughton, the former British Airways and Liverpool FC chairman who is also a lifelong Chelsea fan.

Sky News revealed on Monday that Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets NBA franchise, was also in the data room set up by Raine, the merchant bank overseeing the sale.

Standfirst: Ministers must ensure that fans are allowed to participate in the future ownership of Chelsea Football Club, the boss of a fast-growing tech company has urged in a letter seen by Sky News.

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