Leicester City set a deadline of Monday, September 14 for prospective buyers to submit initial offers, and at least three groups are understood to have entered the race for a club King Power has owned since 2010.
The asking price is more than £200m, according to a BBC Sport report picked up widely across the trade press. The process is being run by Citigroup under the working title “Project Lineup” and covers the club, the women’s team, the King Power Stadium, the Seagrave training complex (valued at £121m and opened in 2020) and the Belgian sister club OH Leuven.
The financial picture behind that headline number is heavy. The same reporting placed bank loans at £103.6m and cumulative losses across 2023 to 2025 at more than £180m. Turnover for the 2026 financial year was forecast above £97m, down sharply from the £186.5m the club posted for the year ended June 30, 2025, when Leicester were still in the Premier League and lost £71.1m before tax.
Who wants to buy
Scottish-Indian businessman Neil Lal has confirmed he is fronting the Bharat Consortium, made up of four investors each taking a 25% stake. Lal has taken his pitch straight to King Power rather than through the club’s advisors.
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“Rather than going through the bankers of Leicester City Football Club, we have contacted the board directly, which saves time,” Lal told talkSPORT.
Saudi entertainment and boxing figure Turki Alalshikh has also been sounded out as a possible bidder after his previous move for Derby County collapsed over the summer.
A “zero” verdict on the front-runner
Not everyone is convinced by the most public bidder. Keith Wyness, former chief executive of Everton and Aston Villa, dismissed the Bharat Consortium’s chances in strong terms.
“I would put it at about zero,” Wyness said of Lal’s prospects.
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“I’m afraid that when you start to bypass the bank that’s in charge, you’re not serious, in my point of view.”
King Power’s counter-move
King Power has not stayed still while the deadline ran down. The Thai owners, controlled by chairman Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha, have converted £8.5m of debt into equity, a paper move that eases immediate pressure on the club’s balance sheet.
The Srivaddhanaprabha family bought Leicester in 2010 for a reported £35m from Milan Mandaric and rode the club to its 2016 Premier League title. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the founder, died in a helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium in 2018.
Wages built for a different division
The administration talk is not abstract. Local coverage has described Leicester’s payroll as the largest in League One history, with Premier League leftovers such as Oliver Skipp, Hamza Choudhury and Wout Faes reported to still be on £50,000 a week.
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That squad is now under Russell Martin, appointed on June 15, 2026 on a three-year contract.
King Power has said any sale must be to the “right buyer” to protect Vichai’s legacy. Four days after bids closed, no agreement has been announced.
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