Our owners: How do you see the endgame, if it ever comes?

[An Away Move]

Crystal ball time. Maybe just for a bit of fun to help us take our minds off of yesterday. All things must change given enough time. It’s pretty much a law of nature. 

 

With that in mind, do you ever see Top selling up? If so, under what circumstances?
 

Personally I just can’t see it because the club is like a living memorial to Vichai. If there ever was an exit strategy, I could see that the crash may have changed things forever. Also, experiences like he had with the players on Saturday can only build on what personal affection he had for the club. 
 

If anything I can only see an increased level of investment in the future. Some of the more sour commentators in the newspapers on the subject of ‘little old Leicester’ were quick to point out that our owners are actually richer than The Glaser Family and the owners of Fenway Sports Group. I hadn’t realised that (if it’s true). 
 

If I had to predict a change in ownership one day I think it would come on the back of some domestic trouble in Thailand. I don’t know enough about the politics over there to speculate on how that might happen, but I can’t see Top upping sticks for any other reason. 
 

Edited 24 May 2021 by SydenhamFox

[Finnegan]

There isn't really a major precedent for this, to be fair. 

 

Major foreign investment in British football in the way we're seeing now is still in its infancy in many ways. 

 

It's a little bit hard to predict what the future will be. Top is a young guy whose passion is football and whose family is now quite rooted in to the club with quite clear emotional ties. 

 

I certainly don't see him leaving short term. I guess it depends how the finances of a family quite dependent on aid travel hold up in the future I suppose. 

Edited 24 May 2021 by Finnegan

[UniFox21]

If they ever lose passion for the game or feel they can't feasibly take us any further, then I believe they'd probably sell us.

Minus that, as you said any domestic issues in Thailand would be the other reason.

[David Guiza]

Win a couple more trophies and another couple of European adventures and then wait for it to blow up in our stupid faces. 

 

[Babylon]

I’d think Top is too emotionally invested now. Maybe if there is a silly offer on the table at some point and something has happened to Kingpower in Thailand, they might consider it.

 

They could have cashed in some time ago if it was about money. Vichai wouldn’t have invested money in horses if turning a quick profit mattered.

 

The prestige, the glory etc is worth more to some than a quick buck.

[Itsthejoeker]

I can honestly see Top running this club until he grows old.

 

He loves this club like we all do, it doesn’t seem to just be business for him. 

[An Away Move]

A good follow up question would be to ask why exactly do you think they bought us? To what end? It’s not as if they were born local fans who fell in love with us. Sometimes I wonder if the typical wealthy owner with piles of cash from dubious sources buy in to get a level of public gaze and legitimacy that somehow protects or elevates their status. Like the owners of The Tate museums. Apparently they were not a cultured bunch. Difficult to imagine that now. 

[Stevosevic]

He's only a young guy. 

 

Realistically he could be in charge for another 30-40 years 

[rachhere]

I am confused. How is speculating on Top selling the club supposed to be fun?! 

[Paninistickers]

The time may well come soon that they need to sell a stake in the club to raise funds..

 

We're at the 'coffin corner' speed and altitude now

 

 

[An Away Move]

4 minutes ago, rachhere said:

I am confused. How is speculating on Top selling the club supposed to be fun?! 

‘Distraction’ would have been a better word!

[moore_94]

I can’t see them selling us for a long long time unless/until King Power goes down the drain, even then I think if it ever came to it they would still keep at least a small % of the club because of the personal connection Top and his family have with us

[orangecity23]

Endgame? Hopefully the plan is to win the champions League and Europa league and use them with our other trophies to create a footballing infinity gauntlet and use it to snap that horse faced handballing gobshite Harry Kane and the rest of sky sports big money 6 out of existence. It's for the greater good of the footballing universe.

[Bryn]

10 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

The time may well come soon that they need to sell a stake in the club to raise funds..

 

We're at the 'coffin corner' speed and altitude now

 

 

 

This is probably the right answer. I don't see us collapsing back down to the Championship in the next couple of decades so it's more likely stakes in the club will go here and there. I doubt there will be one emotional moment where Top walks away and sells to another majority owner. Look at what happened to Arsenal, I think that's the most likely scenario.

[21st Century Fox]

[jeffschlupp]

23 minutes ago, SydenhamFox said:

If anything I can only see an increased level of investment in the future. Some of the more sour commentators in the newspapers on the subject of ‘little old Leicester’ were quick to point out that our owners are actually richer than The Glaser Family and the owners of Fenway Sports Group. I hadn’t realised that (if it’s true). 

I don't see this happening. Each year the financial accounts talk about the club being self-sustainable - some of that has been put to one side, forced by the pandemic, but KPI are highly unlikely to ever flood us with cash.

 

We owe them £123m net already, most of that loans taken out in the last 18-24 months.

 

As others say, I expect there will be a time when KPI decide they've had their fill, in terms of brand awareness, prestige, glory, cleaning dirty money, or whatever exactly they are in it for. They will probably sell some stake in it, like Kenwright at Everton, and slowly reduce their influence.

[TrentFox]

We will be lost in a  game of poker and then owned by Texas Colin, from Basingstoke. 

Edited 24 May 2021 by TrentFox

[stripeyfox]

Vichai himself said "A lot of people worry about - what if we sell the club. I can tell you, this club - we're going to keep it forever"

 

I think Top is just as emtionally bonded to the club - which is good news for us

 

[Jon the Hat]

3 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

Vichai himself said "A lot of people worry about - what if we sell the club. I can tell you, this club - we're going to keep it forever"

I think Top is just as emtionally bonded to the club - which is good news for us

I think they will only sell if they don;t think they are able to sustain the investment, and even then probably letting in another party for a partial shareholding.

[4everfox]

I don't think Top will ever completely sell. It's already been mentioned, but his family will have unbreakable emotional ties to the club forever now. The only situation I could see arising that could force Top to sell a percentage of the club, is if we needed an even richer investor to help take the club to the next level. In that situation, maybe he will sell a percentage of the club. But I could never see Top ever actually selling 100% of the club.

[coolhandfox]

44 minutes ago, Babylon said:

I’d think Top is too emotionally invested now. Maybe if there is a silly offer on the table at some point and something has happened to Kingpower in Thailand, they might consider it.

 

They could have cashed in some time ago if it was about money. Vichai wouldn’t have invested money in horses if turning a quick profit mattered.

 

The prestige, the glory etc is worth more to some than a quick buck.

100% this 

[urban.spaceman]

Elon Musk buys them out and finally swaps the Kop and the ****ing family stand.

 

Drawback: he moves the stadium to his moonbase.

[urban.spaceman]

15 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

Vichai himself said "A lot of people worry about - what if we sell the club. I can tell you, this club - we're going to keep it forever"

 

I think Top is just as emtionally bonded to the club - which is good news for us

1000%. After seeing Top at Wembley there is no chance he will sell us.

[Alf Bentley]

33 minutes ago, SydenhamFox said:

A good follow up question would be to ask why exactly do you think they bought us? To what end? It’s not as if they were born local fans who fell in love with us. Sometimes I wonder if the typical wealthy owner with piles of cash from dubious sources buy in to get a level of public gaze and legitimacy that somehow protects or elevates their status. Like the owners of The Tate museums. Apparently they were not a cultured bunch. Difficult to imagine that now. 

 

Aside from the prestige and glory that you and others have mentioned (and now the emotional ties), I always assume the financial motive was/is to use LCFC as a vehicle to promote the King Power brand internationally via media.

So as to maximise King Power's international profile and profits, as it is their real earner.

 

If so, that seems like good news for us. The financial motivation of some football club owners is to make money directly out of the clubs by stripping assets, loading debt, cutting expenditure or maximising revenues (all potentially detrimental to fans' interests and success on the pitch). In contrast, it is surely in King Power's interests that the club is successful on the pitch, avoids bad publicity, and has a reputation for treating fans well.....that is all good for the reputation of King Power, as their main earner.

 

Clearly, they wouldn't want to lose money hand over fist on the club, but they've hopefully less financial  reason than most owners to try to remove money from the club or from fans.

 

Aside from risks such as turmoil in the Thai economy/politics, a collapse of Thai tourism or air travel, I suppose another financial scenario adverse to LCFC would be if they wanted to switch investment so as to promote King Power in some other market: e.g. to buy a baseball team so as to promote King Power in the USA or a Chinese club to promote KP in China. Even then, barring disaster scenarios, I assume it's unlikely that they'd sell up entirely, given emotional ties and the reputation invested in the club. I'd hope that they'd seek other investors - with the right motives - to take over part-ownership? 

[fox in the sox]

1 hour ago, SydenhamFox said:

A good follow up question would be to ask why exactly do you think they bought us? To what end? It’s not as if they were born local fans who fell in love with us. Sometimes I wonder if the typical wealthy owner with piles of cash from dubious sources buy in to get a level of public gaze and legitimacy that somehow protects or elevates their status. Like the owners of The Tate museums. Apparently they were not a cultured bunch. Difficult to imagine that now. 

They did say at the start that they had seen us in the League Cup final and were impressed by the fans - no doubt this was only said to get them off to a positive start as they had probably watched many teams - but it does suggest they have a real interest in football. Why Leicester? Possibly looking for a club with potential that they could move forward & give their brand a boost.