adminLeicester City are attempting to rebuild their fortunes after one of the most difficult periods in the club’s recent history, with Russell Martin backed by the current owners during a crucial summer at the King Power Stadium.
The Foxes have already welcomed nine new signings as they prepare for life in League One, with King Power continuing to fund the club despite Leicester’s dramatic fall from Premier League champions to the third tier.
Martin’s squad is therefore being reshaped with the hope of putting the club’s recent struggles behind them and beginning the long road back up the English football pyramid.
But while attention has been focused on the rebuild on the pitch, major developments are also taking place behind the scenes that could eventually determine the future direction of Leicester City.
King Power have been exploring the possibility of selling the club and have engaged with financial advisers, with investment bankers at Citibank involved in sounding out potential buyers.
Sky Sports News has now seen a sales pitch brochure produced by the investment bank, detailing the investment opportunity and infrastructure included in the potential sale.
The dossier, titled “Project Lineup”, includes Leicester’s men’s and women’s teams, King Power Stadium, both the men’s and women’s training facilities and sister club OH Leuven in Belgium.
The physical assets have been valued at £224m, although no specific sum has been placed on the football teams themselves.
The potential sale comes despite King Power having no urgency to leave and continuing to support Leicester financially.
The Srivaddhanaprabha family bought Leicester for £35m from Milan Mandaric in 2010 and have since overseen one of the most remarkable periods in the club’s history.
Leicester famously won the Premier League in 2016, before adding the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2021, while also playing Champions League football.
Those achievements are highlighted in the sales brochure, which describes Leicester as the sixth most successful English team since 2000 and calls the club a “rare opportunity” for a prospective buyer.
The document also points to profitable recent transfers involving Ben Chilwell, Harvey Barnes and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall, while Gary Lineker and Emile Heskey are listed among the club’s notable former players.
However, Leicester’s current position in League One is not referenced in the brochure.
The club’s recent financial struggles are also an important part of the wider picture.
Leicester suffered two relegations between 2023 and 2025 and have now fallen into the third tier after three relegations in four seasons.
King Power have converted almost £300m of debt into equity in recent years, meaning the club is largely debt-free apart from some small maintenance loans.
In 2023, Leicester also purchased the land surrounding the King Power Stadium for redevelopment, with plans to increase the stadium’s capacity to 40,000 and build a new hotel and entertainment complex.
Citigroup has forecast Leicester’s revenue for the 2026 financial year at £97m.
Despite everything that has happened, King Power have made it clear through their actions that they will continue funding the club until a new, credible buyer emerges.
And now, the potential next chapter in Leicester City’s ownership story has emerged.
Middle Eastern interest emerges
Sky Sports News understands that an unnamed Middle Eastern firm holds an interest in buying Leicester City.
The development comes after King Power engaged financial advisers regarding a possible sale of the club, with Citibank working to sound out potential buyers.
The interest could potentially open the door to a new era at Leicester, although there is no indication that a sale is imminent.
Sky Sports News contacted Leicester City for comment, but the club declined to do so.
Analysis: ‘Finding the right purchaser could take years’
Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett believes the potential sale represents a significant moment for Leicester, although he warned that finding the right buyer could take years.
“On the face of it, it seems bizarre that King Power would look to sell Leicester City at a time when the club is at its lowest ebb, and at one of its lowest market values, with the team in League One after three relegations in four seasons.
“But in truth Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has been seeking new investment for several years – all that is new here is the glossy brochure which advertises the club for sale, accentuating its assets. It is now being actively marketed for sale by financial specialists.
“That brochure – unusual as it is – is concrete evidence of a looming end of an era. King Power want out – having delivered unprecedented success in the form of the most unlikely of Premier League titles, an FA Cup, Champions League football and a Community Shield.
“For some Leicester fans, all that success has been tarnished by recent failures, and there have been protests against the ownership, and the director of football, Jon Rudkin.
“Serious mistakes have been made, for sure, in the management of the club in recent years, which has seen Leicester crash into League One, after boasting to be the club which came closest to breaking the ‘Big Six’ Premier League monopoly over the last decade.
“But those dissenting Leicester fans should be careful what they wish for.
“On the open market, the football club is a very attractive prospect – almost entirely debt-free (thanks to the generosity of King Power in turning almost all of their £300m debt into equity in recent years) and with fully owned assets that are the envy of much bigger clubs in the Premier League.
“Their Seagrave training ground is a better facility than all but a handful of others in Europe.
“However, despite all their recent success, Leicester’s fan-base is not as sizeable as many of the big clubs in the Championship, and having dropped into the third tier, even promotion at the first attempt would mean they didn’t have the benefit of parachute payments in the second tier.
“All of those facts will be taken into account by would-be buyers.
“So don’t expect a quick sale of the club. It could take years to find the right purchaser.
“The good news for Foxes fans is that King Power will not relinquish their responsibility as custodians, just because they have made the decision to sell.
“Nine new signings this summer is evidence of their determination to still support the football club.
“And the goodwill that the Thai business leaders still have for Leicester will almost certainly mean that they won’t sell to the highest bidder, just to make a quick buck.
“Khun ‘Top’ knows his legacy is at stake, and in memory of his late father, who died tragically in a helicopter crash in the stadium car park, he will no doubt want to sell the club to a new owner who can take the club forward, and once again make it a success.”
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