British property developer Nick Candy will attempt to submit a £2.5 billion bid to buy Chelsea Football Club by the end of this week.
Despite his proposed bid falling below Roman Abramovich ’s £3bn asking price for the club, the Daily Mail have reported that Candy’s plans to purchase the European champions also involve a £1.5bn rebuild of Stamford Bridge.
The lifelong Chelsea fan is currently in the process of negotiating with a number of American investors over forming a consortium to launch a formal bid for the club.
And although Abramovich has set his asking price, it is believed that he is willing to consider an offer of £2.5bn should it be credible enough, due to the fact he could be sanctioned by the Government next week and therefore needs a quick sale.
But who exactly is Nick Candy? Here is all you need to know about the man who plans to buy his boyhood club and redevelop Stamford Bridge should he succeed with a takeover.
Should Roman Abramovich lower his asking price for Chelsea? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Nick Candy is a British property developer and along with his younger brother, Christian, the pair formed their company Candy and Candy ahead of buying their first property in 1995.
Together, they share a joint net worth of £1.5bn and Nick is set to use some of this fortune to help fund the takeover bid for the club.
After buying that first property in 1995 - a one bedroom flat in Earl’s Court - the pair sold it 18 months later for a £50,000 profit, and have since gone on to develop properties including London’s One Hyde Park and NoHo Square, while they oversaw the redevelopment of the former Chelsea Barracks.
However, in 2018, Candy and Candy was renamed to Candy Property as Nick took sole ownership of the company.
Nick also owns a 14.8 per cent stake in podcast platform Audioboom, which was the subject of offers last month as Amazon and Spotify considered takeovers that would have netted him a cool £50m in return for his share of the company.
The 49-year-old is married to former Neighbours star and Australian actress Holly Valance, while the couple have two children together - Luka Violet Toni and Nova Skye Coco.
But perhaps one of the most important details about Nick is that he is a boyhood Chelsea fan, having supported them since the age of four, and therefore has a strong, personal connection to the club.
And this is expected to fuel his ambition to include a £1.5bn redevelopment plan for Stamford Bridge should he successfully purchase the club.
A spokesperson for Candy told the Daily Mail: "Nick Candy is actively exploring a number of options for a potential bid for Chelsea Football Club. Any bid would be made in conjunction with another party (or consortium) and we have serious interest from several international partners.
"Mr Candy has a huge affinity with Chelsea. His father was asked to play for the club and he has been watching matches at Stamford Bridge since the age of four. The club deserves a world class stadium and infrastructure and Mr Candy's unique expertise and background in real estate would be a hugely valuable asset to delivering this vision."
