Leicester City future in doubt as £200m-plus investment package goes to market

Leicester City, the historic Premier League champions, are being marketed to investors for more than £200m in a move that could bring an end to King Power’s 16-year ownership of the club.

BBC Sport has seen an eight-page sales brochure prepared by leading US investment bank Citi, which presents Leicester as an “investment opportunity” under the title “Project Formation”. The package includes the club, Leicester City Women, the team’s principal assets and Belgian side OH Leuven.

The assets being offered include the 32,000-capacity King Power Stadium and the Seagrave Training Ground, which opened in 2020 after an investment of £121m. The physical assets alone are valued at more than £200m, although no final asking price has been set for the sale of the club.

The brochure describes the opportunity as a “rare chance to acquire a club with a proven track record of promotion”. It highlights Leicester’s remarkable rise to the Premier League title in 2016 and their FA Cup triumph five years later.

However, the document does not mention that Leicester were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship twice in successive seasons between 2023 and 2025.

The sales material forecasts that the club’s revenue will exceed £97m in the 2026 financial year. It does not refer to the substantial losses recorded in recent years or the debts accumulated while Leicester moved between the top two divisions.

Accounts for 2025 showed that the club had bank loans worth £103.6m. Leicester have also suffered losses of more than £180m during the period in which their fortunes fluctuated between the Premier League and the Championship.

The potential sale would mark a significant change for a club whose modern history has been closely linked with King Power. The Thai company, owned by the Srivaddhanaprabha family, bought Leicester City from Milan Mandaric for only £35m in 2010.

King Power’s ownership oversaw the most successful period in the club’s history. Leicester won promotion to the Premier League, secured the top-flight title in one of football’s greatest shocks in 2016 and followed that achievement with the FA Cup in 2021.

The club is currently chaired by Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha, who took on the role after the death of his father, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, in a helicopter crash outside the stadium in 2019.

Leicester’s inclusion in the sales brochure comes after a period of sharp decline on the pitch and growing financial pressure away from it. Despite the club’s past achievements being used prominently in the marketing material, the package also includes its recent relegations, outstanding borrowing and significant operating losses.

The proposed transaction therefore covers more than the football club itself. A prospective buyer would also acquire Leicester City Women, King Power Stadium, the Seagrave Training Ground and King Power’s Belgian sister club OH Leuven.