Chelsea must rethink their plans for a bigger ground to rival the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United after their hopes of relocating to Battersea Power Station were dashed.
Roman Abramovich, owner of the European club champions, has been outbid for the iconic 39-acre site on the South Bank of the Thames In Wandsworth by a consortium of two Malaysian companies, SP Setia and Sime Darby. There is a 28-day period of due diligence, however, before the deal will be completed.
Ernst & Young said in a statement: “Following an extensive global marketing campaign, undertaken by Ernst & Young Real Estate Corporate Finance and Knight Frank LLP, the joint administrators are pleased to announce that on Wednesday 6 June 2012 they entered into an exclusivity agreement with SP Setia and Sime Darby and are working towards a timely exchange and completion of the site and associated land.”
Chelsea had hoped to transform the Grade II listed building into a 60,000-capacity stadium — 18,000 bigger than their present Stamford Bridge home — as they look to boost their matchday revenue to compete with the financial gains enjoyed by Arsenal from 60,000 crowds at Emirates Stadium and Manchester United from more than 76,200 at Old Trafford.
When the West London club revealed their plans last month they insisted that they had definitely not committed themselves to leaving Stamford Bridge, although they claimed it was not economically viable to redevelop the site. Chelsea have been linked with other sites.
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SP Setia and Sime Derby told the Malaysian Stock Exchange this morning that their £400 million “multi-use real estate regeneration project” bid had been successful. They also plan to build a Tube station on the premises that will connect to the Northern Line.
Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council, said: “There is still some way to go, but this is potentially very good news. The power station is one of the biggest development opportunities in Nine Elms and key to extending the Northern Line into Battersea.
“We’re making tremendous progress towards transforming this old industrial stretch of the South Bank which will provide up to 25,000 new jobs for London.
“It’s important that this site and its iconic building are not left behind and that a developer is brought in who understands our vision for the new Nine Elms.”
This is not the first defeat Abramovich has suffered as he has tried to resolve Chelsea’s ground issue. In October the Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), the fans’ group that owns the Stamford Bridge freehold, rejected his offer to buy their shares so that he can sell the site.
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CPO shareholders have accused the club of failing to explore fully the prospect of revamping Stamford Bridge, while Hammersmith and Fulham Council have disputed Chelsea’s claims that doing so would be far more expensive than moving.