Premier League Clears Chelsea’s £76m Sale Of Hotels To Avoid PSR Breach
Premier League rules allow clubs to accumulate losses of up to £105m over a three-year period, or £35m per year, on a rolling basis. These losses do not include investments in youth development, women’s football, and infrastructure.
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The Premier League have cleared Chelsea’s £76.5million sale of two hotels to a sister company, thus allowing the club to comply with the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
The Millennium and Copthorne hotels were sold by Chelsea FC Holdings Ltd to BlueCo 22 Properties Ltd in June 2023. Both companies are ultimately owned by BlueCo 22 Ltd, which is Chelsea’s holding company.
The deal meant Chelsea made a loss of £89.9m instead of £166.4m in their 2022/23 accounts.
Premier League rules allow clubs to accumulate losses of up to £105m over a three-year period, or £35m per year, on a rolling basis. These losses do not include investments in youth development, women’s football, and infrastructure.
Chelsea’s compliance with the said rules were previously questioned, due to the company’s’ £89.9m loss in the 2022/23 financial year. This loss would have been £166.4m had it not been for the sale of the Millennium and Copthorne hotels from Chelsea FC Holdings Ltd to BlueCo 22 Properties Ltd.
Associated Party Transactions (APT) such as these – which are transactions between companies or people who have a significant interest a club, financially or otherwise – are subject to inspection by the
As per Premier League’s Associated Party Transactions (APT) rules, a club must be considered to be “at fair market value”. If a club conducts such a deal that is not not deemed to be at fair value, they could be liable to sanctions by the league, after Premier League clubs voted to toughen rules on said transactions in March.
As such, many of Chelsea’s rivals in the Premier League had reportedly questioned the validity of such sales. Chelsea was alleged to have breached both APT and PSR rules, which could have invited financial sanction or points deduction.
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However, the hotel sales have now been reviewed by the Premier League, and the fees were found to be within an acceptable margin to their estimated market values had they been sold to another buyer. Now, the club are confident in complying with PSR regulations in the 2024/25 financial year and the previous seasons.