Chelsea bend over backwards for Stoll veterans

Article posted by Coliseum, April 24^th, 2024

Image: Coliseum GSVA

BlueCo, the parent company of the Premier League team Chelsea Football Club, has completed the acquisition of the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions site, adjacent to the club’s residence – the Stamford Bridge in Fulham, London (UK).

‘CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB’ stated that BlueCo’s acquisition of the 1.9-acre site follows Stoll’s agreement to acquire 128 affordable housing properties in a major new housing development within Fulham.

The BlueCo is a consortium led by Todd Boehly (Owner and Chairman of Chelsea F.C.), Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter (Co-Owner of Chelsea F.C.), and Hansjörg Wyss (Co-Owner of Chelsea F.C.). The group was formed as the investment vehicle for the takeover of the Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. in 2022.

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The Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a private equity firm founded in 2006 that focuses on the technology, industrial and consumer sectors. The firm is headquartered in Santa Monica (US) with affiliates in Dallas (US), London (UK) and Dublin (Ireland). In 2022, the firm was a part of an investor consortium named BlueCo that purchased the Premier League team Chelsea F.C.

The Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London (UK). Founded in 1905, the team play their home games at the Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. It won its first major honor, the league championship, in 1955.

The Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, adjacent to the borough of Chelsea in West London (UK). It is the home of the Premier League club Chelsea F.C. With a capacity of 40,343, it is the ninth largest venue of the 2023-2024 Premier League seasons and the 11th largest football stadium in England.

The Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions are on Fulham Road next door to the Chelsea Football Club. The Mansions include 157 flats, mainly one bedroom properties, a few two bedroom properties and one three bedroom property. There is level access across the site which includes a courtyard garden.

‘CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB’ further stated that the above agreement was secured following the leadership of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, who worked closely with the Chelsea F.C. and the resident veterans concerned to secure their new homes. Stoll has agreed that every resident from the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions will be rehomed at the new Fulham site or, if the resident prefers, in an existing Stoll site. Stoll will retain one block, the 400 block, on the site.

Enthused Jason Gannon, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Chelsea Football Club, “We are delighted to increase our footprint at the Stamford Bridge and take a significant step towards ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the club. We appreciate the opportunity to work with Stoll throughout a competitive tender process and we are pleased to help ensure those veterans that wish to remain inside the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham will be able to do so. Our thanks go to both Stoll and the local Council, whose leadership has been essential to the process.”

Stoll is leading veterans’ charity and housing association that has been helping the ex-Service personnel since 1916. Stoll provides safe, high quality housing and access to services that enable vulnerable and disabled veterans in need of support to live fulfilling, independent lives.

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London (UK) and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 following the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham.

Informed Ben Coleman, Hammersmith and Fulham Council Deputy Leader, “When we found out about the plight of the Stoll veterans, I asked Chelsea to pause the sale until Stoll had agreed to make no one homeless and work with the Council on finding a suitable site in Fulham that kept the community together. I’m extremely grateful to Chelsea for agreeing to do so and for the way they have worked with us to find a solution that puts the interests of the vets first. It has been my privilege to champion the vets who served our country and we are delighted no veteran will now be made homeless and the entire community can stay together in Fulham, where they belong and where we are proud to have them.”

Remarked Will Campbell-Wroe, Stoll Chief Executive, “The completion of the sale marks a transformational moment for Stoll, and forms a central part of our longstanding mission to house and support many more veterans to lead fulfilling, independent lives both now and in the future. We understand that any transition to a new home will be challenging for many of our residents, and we are committed to providing every resident with an enhanced program of financial, wellbeing and rehousing support – as we have been throughout this process. The properties at the King’s Road Park will provide a higher standard of living along with being more comfortable, sustainable and energy-efficient.”

Concluded Campbell-Wroe, “For those residents who choose to move somewhere other than a Stoll property, we will provide them with 12 months of support, including helping them to find a new home. Those that move to another Stoll property will remain on the same tenancy they are on now and will continue to receive the same level of support that we have always provided. To be clear, no veteran at the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions will be left without a home. We are also very grateful to Chelsea for its longstanding support for Stoll, through ongoing fundraising initiatives like its Big Stamford Bridge Sleep Out (Chelsea initiative to help homeless people), and its support of the veterans throughout this process. We look forward to continuing to develop this positive partnership with the club.”

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