adminLeicester City are in a worrying position, and without a takeover, the situation could deteriorate even further. Here is why the Foxes are finding it difficult to sell.
The deadline King Power set has passed, and yet a sale for Leicester City has still not materialised. The situation has left LCFC in a difficult position, stuck in League One with a huge squad, and it has been made even worse by a financial challenge they were never expected to encounter. Changes are required, yet a sale still appears to be some way off.
Kuhn Top struggles to sell Leicester
Leicester City owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha put the club up for sale following their relegation to League One, leaving the former Premier League and FA Cup champions struggling to recover their position and unable to sustain the wages they were accustomed to. The consequences have been disastrous.
So many talented and less-fancied players had to depart in the previous window, and despite key players being forced out in earlier windows too, the Foxes have yet to return to a sustainable position. This is one of the reasons Simon Jordan believes Kuhn Top is demanding far too much with their £200m price tag for the League One club.
“The premise of paying someone £200 million for a football club in League One, irrespective of whether it’s a former Premier League winner, is not going to happen… if the only course of action is administration, then that might result in a new owner coming in”
Simon Jordan, via Football League World
It is fair to say that £200m is a substantial amount for a club in League One, even one with impressive assets such as the King Power Stadium and Seagrave Training Centre, both of which are among the finest in the division and remain high-quality facilities despite the club’s current predicament. However, even if a buyer were willing to pay the £200m asking price, the chairman has another condition.
King Power want to honour the legacy of Kuhn Vichai, our late owner, who did so much for the Leicester community, put the Foxes back on the map, and restored LCFC to a respected and competitive Premier League side. That was a considerable legacy for ‘Top’ to follow, and with disappointing performances and multiple relegations, supporters’ frustration was always likely to follow.
To ‘respect’ his legacy, they want to sell only to the right buyer. This would mean an owner they believe would invest in the community, value the history of the club, and not transform the side into little more than a financial asset. To be fair to King Power, in recent years, LCFC must have been a significant financial burden for them. That being said, it is a burden they made worse with inconsistent managerial appointments and disastrous recruitment windows, with Jon Rudkin leading the way.
To keep the club operating, the East Midlands side have converted £8.5m of debt into equity, meaning they have written off this debt, issued additional shares, and therefore covered part of the costs associated with dropping into League One. This is only a temporary fix: they need to escape the division or complete a sale. Without either happening, they cannot continue injecting money in this manner; it is unsustainable, and they could face administration.
As Jordan said, though, if they are pushed into administration, Leicester City’s owners would likewise be forced to reduce the asking price to a figure prospective buyers might actually consider. For now, though, it appears as if Kuhn Top will continue until either the pressure becomes too great or an ark arrives to rescue the struggling English football giants.
At the very least, any buyer will inherit a transformed squad and a lower wage bill, but there could be complications should Wout Faes and Woyo Coulibaly remain at the club. Their salaries are inflated compared to the other players, and a sale would go a long way towards helping prevent major financial problems. Again, though, it appears the opportunity to move on these two high earners is rapidly coming to an end.
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