Crystal Palace Football Club is officially for sale following their fall into administration.
Investors are expected to have to part with between £10m and £15m for the club, although no price is listed on the advert published in yesterday’s Financial Times.
Assets include a 25-year leasehold on the 26,000 seater Selhurst Park stadium, although the ground’s freehold is currently in the hands of PricewaterhouseCoopers who rent it to the club for £1.2m a year.
Other benefits for prospective purchasers include a 15-year lease on the club’s Beckenham training ground and revenues from sponsorship, Football League payments and television rights projected to be £13.8m a year.
The club’s 26 professional and 16 junior scholarship players are also listed as assets, in addition to possible further revenue streams from ‘sell-on’ clauses in the players’ contracts.
The advert describes the sale as an “opportunity to acquire a long established South London club (founded in 1905) currently playing in the Championship division of the Football League and currently enjoying success in the FA Cup”.
The club’s descent into administration occurred after investment company Agilo tipped the team over the edge two weeks ago to leapfrog other creditors.
The firm, which specialises in ploughing money into “distressed companies” to make them profitable, was owed about £4.5m by the club.
Agilo’s decision was spurred by fears Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs would receive £2m ahead of Agilo being paid back, after the tax office issued the club an order to wind-up on January 27.
Pushing the club into administration ensured Agilo jumped to the top of the club’s creditor queue, but also forced Palace to accept bids for players in order to settle its debt.
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