Chelsea lose Bridge battle

Chelsea have failed with their bid to buy back the freehold of Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea Pitch Owners vote down offer from club

Chelsea have failed with their bid to buy back the freehold of Stamford Bridge. The Chelsea Pitch Owners, who own the freehold and naming rights to Stamford Bridge, voted in favour to accept the club's offer for their shares. But only 61.6 voted in favour, and the club needed 75 per cent to push through a deal which would have seen them regain control of the freehold which was secured by the CPO in 1997. The club confirmed that they had failed with their bid and they were naturally disappointed, insisting the result could 'hinder' the club's progress. A Chelsea statement read: "At today's (Thursday's) general meeting of Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), 61.6 per cent of votes cast on Chelsea Football Club's proposals to buy the freehold land on which the Stamford Bridge stadium sits were for the proposal. "However as 75 per cent of votes were needed, the proposals fail to pass. Chelsea FC is naturally disappointed with the result. A large number of fans supported our proposals but it was always going to be difficult when we had to have a 75 per cent majority of voting shareholders accepting them. "We approached this process with transparency and the will to do what is best for Chelsea Football Club and while we will remain as ambitious as ever, this decision could slow down our progress. "Despite the vote, the facts remain that the current structure could hinder the club." Chelsea want the freehold back in order to help finance their move to a new purpose-built stadium.