Chelsea profit is thanks to £18m windfall from shares

It emerged today that an £18.4million boost from shares enabled Chelsea to record a profit for the first time under Roman Abramovich.

The Blues stunned football in November when announcing that they had gone from a £67.7m loss to a £1.4m profit in just a year. The latest figures covered the 12 months to June 30 with the club putting the turnaround down to their first Champions League success, which earned them £47m, and a £28.8m profit in the transfer market.

However, Chelsea’s accounts, published by Companies House today, revealed that the club received £15m due to cancellation of shares owned by BSkyB. The Blues also banked a further £3.4m thanks to the “write back of accrued preference share dividend associated with these shares”.

Billionaire Abramovich (above) bought Chelsea in 2003 and two years later the club recorded the biggest loss in their history of £140m.

Chelsea’s fourth-round FA Cup tie has been selected for live TV, meaning a windfall for Brentford if they defeat Southend in the replay to set up a west London derby.

Brentford would receive £135,000 TV fee, keep 45 per cent of any gate receipts, potentially £250,000 at a sold-out Griffin Park, and a further £90,000 if they could beat the Premier League side. The other TV games include Tottenham’s trip to Birmingham or Leeds.


Source: LondonEveningStandard