Property developer Nick Candy is assembling a bid worth £2.5bn to buy Chelsea, according to a report.
The Daily Mail suggest that the elder Candy brother is attempting to form a consortium to buy the club, who he supports.
The bid would include plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge.
Roman Abramovich announced last week that he was putting Chelsea up for sale after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Nick Candy is actively exploring a number of options for a potential bid for Chelsea Football Club,” a spokesperson for Candy said in a statement to Sportsmail. “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.”
Alongside brother Christian, Candy formed property development company Candy & Candy in 1999.
The firm has since been involved in a number of high-profile developments in London, including luxury residential and retail complex One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge.
Nick Candy took over sole ownership of the siblings’ business, renamed Candy Property, in 2018 and has diversified his portfolio through investment arm Candy Ventures.
In an apparent breach of coronavirus regulations, a photo showing the billionaire at a party in December 2020 with then London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey emerged in December of last year.
Candy was reportedly a major fundraiser for Conservative candidate Bailey’s campaign.
The 49-year-old’s experience in property development would perhaps appeal to other potential consortium investors given the desire to expand and improve Stamford Bridge.
Planning permission to increase the stadium’s capacity to 60,000 was granted in 2015 but plans stalled after Abramovich’s visa renewal was blocked, and the permission has since expired.
A number of other parties have expressed interest in bidding for the London club.
New York Jets owner and pharmaceutical heir Woody Johnson has been reported to hold interest, while Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss have submitted a joint bid.
