The sale of Chelsea’s women’s team to the club’s parent company is being assessed by the Premier League to ensure the deal was done for fair market value, the PA news agency understands.
A Companies House filing on July 11 stated that as of June 28, Blueco Midco was now “a person with significant control” of Chelsea Football Club Women Ltd, with a separate filing on the same date marking the cessation of Chelsea FC Holdings having significant control on June 28.
Chelsea FC Holdings’ accounts are the ones the Premier League looks at under profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), with June 28 the last working day before the year-end cut-off for the 2023-24 accounts – effectively the PSR deadline.
Under PSR, clubs’ losses must not exceed £105million over a three-year assessment period, with Everton (twice) and Nottingham Forest having been docked points for breaches over the course of last season.
There has been speculation that Chelsea’s lavish transfer spending since the consortium involving American businessman Todd Boehly bought the club in 2022 meant they were at risk of breaching the PSR limit for 2023-24.
Chelsea have not issued any statement regarding the transfer of significant control of the women’s team company to Chelsea FC Holdings’ parent company Blueco Midco, and no sums have been disclosed, but the proceeds of any sale would be booked as profit on Chelsea FC Holdings’ 2023-24 accounts.
PA understands the deal is being assessed by the Premier League for fair market value under its associated party transaction (APT) rules governing deals involving entities linked to a club’s ownership.
Chelsea had announced in May it was looking to sell a minority stake in the women’s team.
Sources close to the club described the transfer of ownership as a repositioning of the women’s team that would enable that investment to take place, and make it easier for the women’s team to have parity with the men and attract sponsorship directly.
The sale of club-owned assets to a related company is allowed under league rules, but must be for fair market value. A move to bring in an outright ban on such sales was narrowly voted down at the league’s annual general meeting in June.
Separately, neither Chelsea nor the Premier League have yet confirmed whether the £76.5m sale of two hotels to another related company – Blueco 22 Properties Ltd – which took place during the 2022-23 accounting period, had been signed off as being for fair market value.
Chelsea’s 2022-23 accounts showed a loss of £89.9m, even with the £76.5m made from selling the hotels.
