King Power tests buyer interest in Leicester City

King Power has hired investment bank Citi to test buyer interest in Leicester City, raising the prospect of an end to 16 years of Thai ownership.

The Financial Times reported on Wednesday (July 22) that the travel retail group controlled by the Srivaddhanaprabha family was considering a sale. Citi has begun presenting information about the club to several prospective investors, according to people familiar with the matter.

No asking price has been disclosed, and the discussions may not lead to a deal.

Sky Sports News separately reported that an unnamed Middle Eastern group had shown serious interest in buying the club.

Leicester City and Citi declined to comment. King Power had not publicly responded to the reports.

From Premier League glory to League One

King Power founder Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha bought Leicester in 2010, when the club were a mid-table Championship side.

They reached the Premier League four years later and, under Italian manager Claudio Ranieri, completed one of football’s greatest upsets by winning the 2015-16 title.

Leicester remained competitive after that triumph, finishing fifth in the Premier League in both 2020 and 2021. They also won the FA Cup for the first time in 2021.

Control of the club passed to Vichai’s son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, after Vichai died in a helicopter crash outside the stadium in October 2018.

The club’s decline accelerated after the Covid-19 pandemic. Leicester were relegated from the Premier League in 2023, returned as Championship winners a year later and dropped out of the top flight again in 2025.

A second successive relegation followed in the 2025-26 season, sending the former English champions into League One.

Losses and penalties deepen the strain

Leicester’s problems worsened in February when the club were docked six points for breaching English football’s financial rules.

The deduction left them unable to escape relegation to the third tier.

Accounts released this year showed that Leicester lost £71.1 million during the 2024-25 season, despite competing in the Premier League and receiving higher broadcasting and commercial income.

King Power had already converted £124 million in shareholder loans into equity, removing the debt from the club’s balance sheet.

The Thai owners have invested heavily in Leicester during their time in charge. The club moved into a new training centre at Seagrave and drew up plans to expand King Power Stadium to about 40,000 seats, although the project has been put on hold.

King Power faces pressure in Thailand

The possible sale also comes as King Power’s main travel retail business faces difficulties at home.

Its duty-free operations were hit by the fall in international travel during the pandemic and the uneven recovery in overseas arrivals, particularly from China.

Airports of Thailand said in October that it had agreed to renegotiate parts of King Power’s retail concession agreements.

Financial statements for King Power International showed a net profit of 2.2 billion baht in 2022, falling to 143 million baht in 2023. The company recorded a net loss of 3.343 billion baht in 2024.

The market for major football club takeovers has cooled since a surge in deals in 2022. High valuations and pressure to deliver financial returns have led some investors to pursue minority stakes or clubs outside Europe’s top divisions.

The Financial Times reported a day earlier that an investor group was in talks to buy a stake in Liverpool at a valuation of more than US$6 billion.

Leicester will enter League One alongside Sheffield Wednesday, another club that faced serious difficulties under Thai ownership before entering administration and being bought by a US investment group in May.