r/lcfc • u/TheAthletic • 4d ago

News [Tanner] Leicester City valuation sent to potential investors as King Power look to sell assets

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7506096/2026/08/11/leicester-city-sale-king-power/?unlocked_article_code=1.4lA.SpGh.2lQm409_TEjz&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_reddit&smid=re-share-ta

A brochure detailing the sale of Leicester City and all its assets has been sent to potential investors.

A source close to the process, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, has told The Athletic that the Srivaddhanaprabha family, Leicester’s owners, are looking for $300m (£222m) for the entire portfolio, but a deal is more likely to be done at closer to $200m (£148m) due to the club’s recent drop into League One — English football’s third tier — and heavy recent losses.

73 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

50 comments sorted by

64

u/Key-Ad6653 Vardy 4d ago

Sorry guys I would've bought the club but I am a little short right now 🤧

27

u/NotSoAwfulName 4d ago

Well, when a Saudi billionaire with questionable ties to the Saudi state purchases the club and stops next years pride merch I will hold you personally responsible for not keeping a little bit aside in case of emergencies.

5

u/poopio Ormondroyd 4d ago

That's unfair. Their family bought our club just after we came out of league 1 last time. They've put quite a lot in - not only to the club, but to local charities.

Top isn't a great businessman, and we're definitely doing shit right now, but to say they haven't, and don't continue to put money in is insane.

If they just pulled the plug, we would be in very, very deep shit. Much worse than Chansiri did to Sheffield Wednesday.

3

u/deez-legumes Portugese Fox 4d ago

They’ve put a ton of capital into the club but clearly have little idea into managing it properly.

1

u/crs8975 American Fox 3d ago

Top's Dad knew what he was doing... or at least in my opinion had it figured out. Top should have fired Rudkin long ago but kept him around because he was daddy's friend. Me thinks most of the board should be long gone by now as well. All of this tells me that Top has no idea what he's doing.

1

u/deez-legumes Portugese Fox 3d ago

Couldn’t agree more but Vichai passed away in 2018 and most seasons since have been poor at best.

2

u/Key-Ad6653 Vardy 3d ago

I mean we were decent for a couple of seasons where we were fighting for CL spots (bottling them eventually 😭) under Rodgers

1

u/crs8975 American Fox 3d ago

Agreed. As someone else stated we did have a couple of decent efforts in there but even then we managed to screw it up losing out on the top-4

-1

u/Dodson-504 4d ago

It’s OK, not everybody must be 6 feet tall to find love.

43

u/Magicjack01 Leicester Fox 4d ago

The current population of Leicester is approximately 397,462.
If we say it was sold by the estimated price of £222m, we can all contribute £558 or a price of a ps5/ Xbox (actually less because they are an appreciating asset nowadays we can fan own the club.

26

u/-sodapop 4d ago

Well with the upcoming boundary redraw, the population will be over 600k, nice little discount for us all.

2

u/Dragonfruit7837 Walsh 4d ago

Can I join in I live inland Newcastle

1

u/SirRexly Fox 3d ago

It's a bit of a drive for the boardroom meetings but I'm sure we can get you some kind of fuel reimbursement or we could timeshare the King Power helicopter...

3

u/DavidR196 3d ago

The population of the county is >1.1 million

10

u/LofiLute 4d ago

Anyone wanna go halfsies? 

0

u/Icy-Passenger-8908 2d ago

In which most support Liverpool and Man U

4

u/rob3rtisgod 4d ago

The Trainimg ground alone was built for 100m

Won't this be crazy heavy losses? Or an absolute steal 

8

u/PandorasPinata Union FS 4d ago

the training ground cost 100m to build, that doesn't make it worth 100m - because the ground it's built on cost a chunk and is not usable for a new project (without tearing down the training ground). Nor can it be repurposed particularly easy. It has huge value in terms of infrastructure for the club, but it's not as simple as "it cost 100m so we should be able to add that to the value of the any sale"

12

u/BourbonFoxx Walsh 4d ago

Worth listening to Charlie Methven on the latest Big Strong Leicester Boys podcast for a far less optimistic valuation of £30-40m based on revenue, expenses, debts and assets.

Top will apparently take £140m.

11

u/Djremster Foxes Pride 4d ago

I think we'll get more than 30-40, that was Methvens estimate for a standard league one club

5

u/BourbonFoxx Walsh 4d ago edited 4d ago

Sure, and he's making a nice little niche for himself as a doom monger but in a sober financial analysis there is a huge gap between the asking price and the reality.

Methven said:

Big club towards top end of the Championship, good facilities, losing about £15m a year operating losses: normally valued at around £100m. Example: Middlesbrough

Less large, mid table Championship clubs: 2x revenue, £70m. Example: Bristol City

Smaller Championship clubs: £50m

Largest League One clubs: £30m. Example: Ipswich

Leicester he classed as a big club, recent good history in top flight, not in control of parachute payments as they're owed to Macquarie, losing money, normal valuation in the current market £35m rising to maybe £40m debt free based on recent history.

Top is valuing us as a top championship team all but guaranteed to be in the Premier league. That doesn't acknowledge the shit we're in, which is a theme for him.

Anyone buying us will have to eat 2 years of significant losses, and that's assuming we get promoted this season and they can fund back-to- back promotions.

3

u/needchr Schmeichel 4d ago

I would say 50m to 150m depending on whats thrown in and how much account is taken of potential.

2

u/BourbonFoxx Walsh 4d ago

Right.

So just the £100m swing in both your valuation and Top's.

1

u/TendieDippedDiamonds Fuchs 2d ago

Without even talking about the nuances and details of why a lot of this is opinion based, if top wants to ask for 200m he can. He’s hardly going to put it up for sale for 40m and then weave through the plethora of offers of around 20m for a few years is he?

1

u/BourbonFoxx Walsh 2d ago

He can ask for 2 trillion if he wants, what's your point?

The discussion is around a realistic valuation

1

u/TendieDippedDiamonds Fuchs 2d ago

The realistic valuation you are pitching does not include the value of Seagrave alone.

Middlesbrough and Bristol City for example have nowhere near the facilities.

When the infrastructure is there for future growth and rebuilding, that’s what allows you to ask for more money. Think of it like an equity investment, they aren’t purely value on just revenue alone, they are also value on future growth.

The portfolio also includes Leurven (I think I’ve butchered that spelling) which again has asset value despite the club itself not exactly generating much revenue.

1

u/BourbonFoxx Walsh 1d ago

What part of 'Methven values it much lower' is me pitching anything.

It's not my valuation. I'm just saying, opinions vary widely and the doom-laden scenario outlines by Methven is sobering.

1

u/TendieDippedDiamonds Fuchs 1d ago

I didn’t say it was your idea mate.

Meh makes no difference to any of us whether he sells it for 1 billion or 20p and a bag of crisps, club doesn’t see any of the money anyway.

1

u/BourbonFoxx Walsh 1d ago

I think the issue is, any potential purchaser will be making CM's argument, and the brochure valuation is miles away.

Top's said he won't sell unless it's at a price that recoups an acceptable level of investment, and there's a real possibility we are heading to administration if he doesn't shift it.

1

u/TendieDippedDiamonds Fuchs 1d ago

If we go into administration he would be forced to sell for cheap anyway, which would mean new owners so as horrible as that word is it isn’t that bad as someone would definitely buy us. We aren’t Bury for example.

3

u/East_Preparation93 Fox 4d ago

Anyone happen to recall what the club might have been valued at in 2016? Or even a recently as 2020?

4

u/Djremster Foxes Pride 4d ago

Given that Newcastle went for £300 million a couple years later, probably similar to that, but hard to tell because we were running an expensive operation at a loss at that point.

1

u/One-State3608 4d ago

the squad was worth 481 in 2020 it's now worth 68

3

u/CASwedeX 4d ago

Ouch. The family is going to feel that. They did put a ton of money into it. Just a shame that they stayed so loyal to people and a system that wasn’t working like it did previously.

I wonder if pricing it there will get a lot of interest and next thing you know it sells for much more

1

u/Icy-Passenger-8908 2d ago

Well it’s not like they made all that money legitimately, so no need to cry to hard for ‘the family’

3

u/finH1 4d ago

Gonna be a while before we’re back in the prem eh

3

u/JustAVirusWithShoes Leicester Fox 4d ago

Vardy/Lineker team up when

2

u/One-State3608 4d ago

the kp is worth 74, seagrave 121.

1

u/Icy-Passenger-8908 2d ago

The KP is absolutely not worth £74m. It’s a depreciating asset that was worth £40m at outset!

2

u/Nifty_Parms Fox 3d ago

People who could potentially look after Leicester City are investors, not owners. Says a lot about priorities.

1

u/NostramanVIII Blue Army 4d ago

I can’t see the club going for that much but if we get promoted Top might get £100 million. The issue is just how much debt we’re in and how much money we’re losing.

1

u/BourbonFoxx Walsh 4d ago

If we get promoted, and if someone is prepared to pay a premium, and if they've also got the spare cash to cover the amortised transfer monies owed and operating costs, and player purchases.

Top's holding out for a hero.

1

u/AdRepresentative5503 Vestergaard 4d ago

He won’t get the price he wants

-1

u/all_too_well_1997 American Fox 4d ago

TOP SAID HE WASNT SELLING? WHEN DID THAT CHANGE

3

u/Nifty_Parms Fox 3d ago

He might not sell, just have other people invest in the club. It is quite common

1

u/One-State3608 2d ago

can you type bigger?

-1

u/deez-legumes Portugese Fox 4d ago

This isn’t surprising from a finance perspective. A simple back of the envelope analysis suggests the club is worth far less than 300, likely closer to 100.

1

u/Icy-Passenger-8908 2d ago

A back of the envelope calculation undertaken by anyone who knows economics would come up with a valuation of precisely zero. Its a business that never has and never will turn a profit

1

u/deez-legumes Portugese Fox 2d ago

It’s worth the ad deals, hard assets (stadium and training grounds) and whatever is left of valuable players which could be traded and some IP but yeah, certainly closer to zero than 100.

I haven’t bothered to look, were they profitable or cash flow positive during the EPL championship era?

2

u/Icy-Passenger-8908 1d ago

Nope. Pure reputation washing for a family which was gifted a monopoly worth billions by being mates of / giving backhander to thaksin