King Power: A Tale of Rise and Ruin

[OntarioFox]

2 hours ago, southfox66 said:

I think if people step back and reassess the King Power era, they have provided with the best years of the clubs history and achieved what no owner of the club has ever achieved at the club before and for that we should be externally grateful for.

 

Fast forward to today and to be honest it's no different to what we'd expect at Leicester pre King Power days and I don't think a new owner would repeat the success of King Power.

 

In a way King Power got lucky achieving the success they did and unlucky in the decline of it too.

 

I'll just accept we are back to Leicester style of old days up and down leagues, some seasons we will go straight down and hopefully others we might survive a few seasons in the premier, but have the memories of winning the Premier League, FA cup and champions league football something not many other club fans get to experience in English professional football.

I think the issue is that, if the finances of KP are as dire as they're being made out to be, the club will be in serious financial trouble, if not in the next season then certainly after a protracted period outside the Premier League. The club already bleeds money, we have very few saleable player assets, and Top is going to be under increasing pressure to stop throwing money at what's seen as a vanity project compared to the currently-creaking empire back in Thailand.

 

This isn't going to be 2002-04 again where a fan whip-around and a few generous donations from folks like Lineker and Heskey will have a genuine impact in staving off complete collapse. The sheer amount of money in the game today by comparison means any financial black hole will be so eye-watering as to make that sort of thing impossible.

 

If King Power really are stuffed enough that Top ends up having to sell, he either finds a buyer willing to shoulder the Macquarie loans alongside a club that's lost enough money to trigger PSR multiple seasons running - or the whole club goes bust. At an absolute minimum, the club's capital assets (stadium and our shiny new training ground) will have to be sold to third parties, since KP's lack of business acumen means they don't have a  diversified enough portfolio to cook the books like, say, Chelsea did. Which will put us into a similar situation as, god forbid, Coventry found themselves in with the Ricoh.

 

I said it last time, but this time around it's even more acute if anything - from a purely financial standpoint, it could be terminal to Leicester City's very existence if we fail to win promotion, if not this season then certainly once the parachute payments run out.

Edited 25 June 2025 by OntarioFox

[MattFox]

2 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

Tragic death of Vichai, swiftly followed by a global pandemic that decimated tourism in Thailand?

Nothing unlucky about abandoning a data driven transfer approach and dishing out long term contracts to underperforming players

 

As well as refusing to address the managerial situation on multiple occasions 

[MattFox]

26 minutes ago, OntarioFox said:

I think the issue is that, if the finances of KP are as dire as they're being made out to be, the club will be in serious financial trouble, if not in the next season then certainly after a protracted period outside the Premier League. The club already bleeds money, we have very few saleable player assets, and Top is going to be under increasing pressure to stop throwing money at what's seen as a vanity project compared to the currently-creaking empire back in Thailand.

 

This isn't going to be 2002-04 again where a fan whip-around and a few generous donations from folks like Lineker and Heskey will have a genuine impact in staving off complete collapse. The sheer amount of money in the game today by comparison means any financial black hole will be so eye-watering as to make that sort of thing impossible.

 

If King Power really are stuffed enough that Top ends up having to sell, he either finds a buyer willing to shoulder the Macquarie loans alongside a club that's lost enough money to trigger PSR multiple seasons running - or the whole club goes bust. At an absolute minimum, the club's capital assets (stadium and our shiny new training ground) will have to be sold to third parties, since KP's lack of business acumen means they don't have a  diversified enough portfolio to cook the books like, say, Chelsea did. Which will put us into a similar situation as, god forbid, Coventry found themselves in with the Ricoh.

 

I said it last time, but this time around it's even more acute if anything - from a purely financial standpoint, it could be terminal to Leicester City's very existence if we fail to win promotion, if not this season then certainly once the parachute payments run out.

King Power own the stadium separately to the club 

[les-tah]

I just wish the financial issues means they need to sell us..

 

Wasn't Elon Musk interested in a uk club?!👀 absolutely bat shit crazy and will just plug everything into Ai but data driven recruitment will be on again.

[Dan]

I'm sceptical of AI but not a chance it pays £20mil for Oliver Skipp.

[orangecity23]

19 minutes ago, Dan said:

I'm sceptical of AI but not a chance it pays £20mil for Oliver Skipp.

Skipp transfer boggles the mind on so many levels. How could anyone think it was a good idea to spend that much on a defensive midfielder who will never be worth what we paid for him in the future, let alone turn a profit? Especially given that we've spent years failing to shift Soumare, who plays in the same position, was similarly expensive and has had no one put in a proper transfer bid to buy him. We've got one more year of amortisation losses on Soumare before his inevitable Bosman exit, but now we've filled up that credit card again for another 4 years for Skipp. 

 

All this for two players, neither of which has ever looked particularly better than Papy Mendy was for us. We would have been 40 million better off keeping him and never bothering with the pair of them.

Edited 25 June 2025 by orangecity23

[Jaspa]

5 minutes ago, orangecity23 said:

Skipp transfer boggles the mind on so many levels. How could anyone think it was a good idea to spend that much on a defensive midfielder who will never be worth what we paid for him in the future, let alone turn a profit? Especially given that we've spent years failing to shift Soumare, who plays in the same position, was similarly expensive and has had no one put in a proper transfer bid to buy him. We've got one more year of amortisation losses on Soumare before his inevitable Bosman exit, but now we've filled up that credit card again for another 4 years for Skipp. 

 

All this for two players, neither of which has ever looked particularly better than Papy Mendy was for us. We would have been 40 million better off keeping him and never bothering with the pair of them.

It was probably something to do with the money Spurs owed/owe us in installments for Maddison. Fixated on bargaining rather than looking at the quality of the player, Cooper knew him from the England set up but he was never worth that.

[STUHILL]

I have only just started looking into what is going on at King Power in Thailand, and when you have the new CEO talking about being on life support, then you know it could all collapse rather spectacularly and very quickly. The only positive for King Power, is that the airports themselves would take a huge hit financially if King Power do cancel their contracts, and so the new CEO is using that threat to try keep King Power going for now. Either way, I can't see King Power being anywhere near as successful as they once were, and I very much doubt we will have the kind of investment we did in the past. 

The same saying crops up, of being 'careful for what you wish for', in terms of new Ownership. However, due to the constant mismanagement from Top and Rudkin, and the very real prospect of a King Power collapse, I would absolutely be in favour of rolling the dice and being sold to new owners. I think with the training ground, plans for a new stadium, and the story behind Leicester, we would likely attract a lot of interest, if Top didn't demand a silly price.  

I understand Top has personal attachment to the club, and so it may take the collapse of King Power to force him to sell. Either that, or he could stubbornly take us down with him. 

Thanks for the good times King Power, but it really does feel like this is, and should be the end. Please sell. 

[MattFox]

Post on Bentleys saying some of the (outsourced) hospitality staff at the KP have been let go

 

Nothing to verify it though …

[Dan]

1 hour ago, orangecity23 said:

Skipp transfer boggles the mind on so many levels. How could anyone think it was a good idea to spend that much on a defensive midfielder who will never be worth what we paid for him in the future, let alone turn a profit? Especially given that we've spent years failing to shift Soumare, who plays in the same position, was similarly expensive and has had no one put in a proper transfer bid to buy him. We've got one more year of amortisation losses on Soumare before his inevitable Bosman exit, but now we've filled up that credit card again for another 4 years for Skipp. 

 

All this for two players, neither of which has ever looked particularly better than Papy Mendy was for us. We would have been 40 million better off keeping him and never bothering with the pair of them.

It's one of those things that was so obviously dumb I really wonder if it's some sort of backhander. I wonder if it's at all linked to the Maddison deal.

 

Like Praet that came before them as well - another expensive midfielder, big wages, that was basically never first choice.

Edited 25 June 2025 by Dan

[VLC86]

21 minutes ago, MattFox said:

Post on Bentleys saying some of the (outsourced) hospitality staff at the KP have been let go

 

Nothing to verify it though …

Normal for a relegation really.

[FOTS]

7 hours ago, funkyrobot said:

Why is Seagrave being blamed? Out downturn coinciding with the tragic loss of Vichai has everything to do with the management of the club Top down, nothing to do with state of the art training facilities. 

Because Seagrave is a symbol of the poor culture that’s been set. Don't get me wrong, it’s not the biggest issue we have, but the downturn has pretty much coincided with its opening.

 

At least at Belvoir Drive, the players had to travel through the community they’re representing. They’d be forced to interact with people, they’d have to drive down Aylestone Road and see the Saff. But now they’re leaving their houses in Nottingham (or further), travelling into the sticks and don’t have to face the fanbase. It’s no real wonder they don’t care about being here if all they see of Leicester is a couple of hours every fortnight.

Clearly this culture is ultimately down to poor leadership and decisions from the top of the club - but Seagrave plays a big part in allowing these players to feel too comfortable whilst performing poorly. 

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, MattFox said:

Post on Bentleys saying some of the (outsourced) hospitality staff at the KP have been let go

 

Nothing to verify it though …

The new contract for the catering starts the forthcoming season 

[OntarioFox]

4 hours ago, MattFox said:

King Power own the stadium separately to the club 

That would surely put it at even greater risk of sale if KP call the shots rather than Top alone. The ground will be one of the first things to go to satiate AOT, especially if through our failures on the pitch it's no longer got the significant exposure boost of the Premier League to put the company's name out there.

 

Regardless of whether it's KP in charge of the club or Top himself, if the money from the business dries up (as it clearly is doing before our eyes) capital assets will be the first thing in the crosshairs to shore up the part of King Power that isn't a complete money pit.

Edited 25 June 2025 by OntarioFox

[funkyrobot]

2 hours ago, FOTS said:

Because Seagrave is a symbol of the poor culture that’s been set. Don't get me wrong, it’s not the biggest issue we have, but the downturn has pretty much coincided with its opening.

 

At least at Belvoir Drive, the players had to travel through the community they’re representing. They’d be forced to interact with people, they’d have to drive down Aylestone Road and see the Saff. But now they’re leaving their houses in Nottingham (or further), travelling into the sticks and don’t have to face the fanbase. It’s no real wonder they don’t care about being here if all they see of Leicester is a couple of hours every fortnight.

Clearly this culture is ultimately down to poor leadership and decisions from the top of the club - but Seagrave plays a big part in allowing these players to feel too comfortable whilst performing poorly. 

Seagrave has played a massive positive part in the development of the best set of youth players we’ve ever had. It’s not the problem.
 

Driving through the saff to a dated, cramped training facility wouldn’t have changed anything. Out failures are down to poor decisions at the top since the tragic death of Vichai, our downturn was because of this and the subsequent mismanagement that has resulted in overpaying wages and reducing player sale opportunities, buying too many poor players, selecting too many poor managers or keeping failed managers on for too long and not having any progression planning when we have had periods of success. Ultimately these failures have pushed us over a PSR threshold that has crippled us. The problem is not a fabulous training facility.  

 

 

 

 

[londonfoxfan]

whats more worrying is that aside from the KP failures in Thailand, they may not be able to sack Van Nistelrooy. it maybe RVN and Andy king assistant next season

[blueharmie]

These overpaid losers should be running around bradgate park not lounging around some five star training park. 

 

Leaving dinner plates on tables shows lack of respect. Dogs, youth team coaches pissing around. Im sorry, but the club is an absolute shambles. 

 

King powers and tops time are up now. We need someone who can really run a football business and not these clowns at present.

Edited 25 June 2025 by blueharmie

[sm1]

Title of the thread could easily be Leicester City: A Tale of Rise and Ruin.

Top really has fuched everything up his dad built.

[CornwallFox]

6 hours ago, FOTS said:

Because Seagrave is a symbol of the poor culture that’s been set. Don't get me wrong, it’s not the biggest issue we have, but the downturn has pretty much coincided with its opening.

 

At least at Belvoir Drive, the players had to travel through the community they’re representing. They’d be forced to interact with people, they’d have to drive down Aylestone Road and see the Saff. But now they’re leaving their houses in Nottingham (or further), travelling into the sticks and don’t have to face the fanbase. It’s no real wonder they don’t care about being here if all they see of Leicester is a couple of hours every fortnight.

Clearly this culture is ultimately down to poor leadership and decisions from the top of the club - but Seagrave plays a big part in allowing these players to feel too comfortable whilst performing poorly. 

I don't really see this. The idea that high quality surroundings make you lazy is not really true is it? There are many factors to our downfall, having an incredible training ground isn't one of them.

[Sly]

10 hours ago, suffolk fox said:

Tourism isn't down in Thailand either 32.4 million tourists visited in 2024, it's one of the most visited tourist hotspots in the world.  

This, 100%.
 

They’re back to pre covid levels and I think it’s more a case of King Power just sell so much overpriced junk, that no one buys it.

[davieG]

More of the same.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2025/06/25/leicester-owners-thai-empire-in-serious-financial-trouble/

 

Leicester City owners’ Thai empire in serious financial trouble
Future of King Power is in doubt, casting yet more uncertainty over relegated club, who have also been charged with breaking PSR rules

Sam Wallace
Chief Football Writer
Sam Wallace
Related Topics
Leicester City FC, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Premier League, EFL Championship, King Power Stadium, Ruud van Nistelrooy
25 June 2025 10:18pm BST

King Power’s financial difficulties could spell further trouble for Leicester City Credit: Getty Images/Jack Thomas
The future of the Leicester City owners’ King Power business is in serious trouble, which could have significant implications for the newly relegated Championship club.

The warning came from Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, the new King Power chief executive, in an interview with Thai media. The wealth of the King Power duty-free empire has helped to sustain the club for 15 years.

Under the Srivaddhanaprabha family, who control King Power, the club have enjoyed the most successful period in their history, including the 2016 Premier League title triumph.

The club, relegated from the Premier League in May, face a possible points deduction for the new season over breaching financial controls in their 2023-24 Championship season.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is in limbo, with no clarity over his future as manager. While it has been expected the club will sack him at the start of next month – in the new financial year – there are no guarantees that will be the case.

Sirismatthakarn has been appointed to renegotiate the agreements King Power has with the Thai airports’ authority, for whom he has previously worked. He has replaced the Leicester chairman Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha as the chief executive of the group, in which the family still owns a controlling stake.

Top has moved to “group executive chairman” – as Sirismatthakarn seeks to save the business built by the late Srivaddhanaprabha patriarch, and Top’s father, Vichai. The driving force behind Leicester and the club’s historic Premier League title in 2016, Vichai died in a helicopter crash at King Power stadium in 2018. Since then, Leicester’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed, with an FA Cup win in 2021 but since then two relegations from the Premier League.

It is the future of King Power, which suffered major losses during Covid, which will dictate the club’s immediate future. A major Thai company built by Vichai, who took ownership of Leicester in 2010, the message on the company’s future from new CEO Sirismatthakarn was stark.

Upon his father’s death, it was Top who took control of the family business. In addition to Leicester, the family own upwards of 100 racehorses, which are trained in Britain.

Sirismatthakarn said that his priority was to restore the relationship between Airports of Thailand (AOT) and King Power. Speaking to The Nation, he said that King Power had recently requested talks with AOT over cancelling contracts at three of its airports.

Sirismatthakarn said: “It’s like a patient [King Power] surviving on oxygen. The company’s intention was to ask AOT to remove the oxygen because we can’t cope anymore. That was the signal we sent.”

Sirismatthakarn suggested the problem was the threshold of revenue that King Power was obliged to pay AOT as part of its contractual obligations. He said revenues have changed since those agreements were made.

There were recent talks between the two parties over the status quo and the AOT will now examine the agreements with King Power for a 60-day review period. A final decision will be made by AOT at board level.

PSR problems catching up with Leicester
Meanwhile, Leicester face three Premier League charges for breaking profitability and sustainability rules during their most recent Championship promotion season and failing to submit accounts on time. The case will go to an independent commission to decide whether the charges have been proved and, if so, the likely punishment.

Leicester successfully fought a Premier League PSR charge last season, claiming the league did not have jurisdiction over them once they had been relegated at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

If Van Nistelrooy is to leave next week, it is unclear who will take pre-season, which is meant to start on Monday. Brian Barry-Murphy has already left his role as assistant to become manager of Cardiff City in League One and another of Van Nistelrooy’s assistants, Jelle ten Rouwelaar, is expected to join Brighton and Hove Albion.

Club favourite Andy King is one possibility as an interim manager. Leicester and King Power declined to comment.

[Sly]

6 hours ago, OntarioFox said:

That would surely put it at even greater risk of sale if KP call the shots rather than Top alone. The ground will be one of the first things to go to satiate AOT, especially if through our failures on the pitch it's no longer got the significant exposure boost of the Premier League to put the company's name out there.

 

Regardless of whether it's KP in charge of the club or Top himself, if the money from the business dries up (as it clearly is doing before our eyes) capital assets will be the first thing in the crosshairs to shore up the part of King Power that isn't a complete money pit.

The stadium is actually on a Hire Purchase agreement between K Power Holdings Company and Leicester City Football Club.

 

Page 48 of the accounts on Companies House advises it.

 

It states all amount owing on this agreement are due for repayment on 30th June 2026. Reading between the lines, if that’s all we have on hire purchase, we owed £23.6m for it. 

 

We owed King Power £100m as of June 2024, up by £40m from 2023.

 

We owe Top £32m (we are paying him interest on this as well).

 

We owe King Power Sports Investments £14m.

 

We clearly trade internally with other King Power companies, however this isn’t usual for large companies with group holdings. It does make for the  dressing of accounts in any company, as it makes it slightly difficult to see a true picture. It’s very messy but it’s safe to say we have relied on King Power for investment.

 

[Jon the Hat]

If you step back for a minute, retailers negotiating a reduction in their "rent" is a very normal thing.  I don't expect - unless KP have managed to piss off all their connections in Thailand - this to result in a bad outcome. 

[Sly]

To put this into perspective.

 

 

If King Power call in that loan of £100m to balance the books in Thailand for instance, the quickest way to generate cash would be sell players.

 

If we went on a fire sale …. We’d need to sell half the squad to cover that bill.

 

Then we’d still owe Harry Maquires Australian bank £120m+ as well. 

If we need to pay to sack RVN, that isn’t happening. The delay could be dealing with the impending issue in Thailand. Therefore stop and halt all non critical spending at Leicester.
 

We’d be playing with kids if it reached that point, as we’d have no squads. 
 

Jokes aside, we then come to next summer, where we owe King Power a further £23m for the stadium …. How are we funding that? 
 

 

[Sly]

1 minute ago, Jon the Hat said:

If you step back for a minute, retailers negotiating a reduction in their "rent" is a very normal thing.  I don't expect - unless KP have managed to piss off all their connections in Thailand - this to result in a bad outcome. 

It’s more a case of the Thai airport aren’t making a lot, neither are King Power, so therefore it’s about sharing the pain. 

 

It’ll never return to lucrative market it was, therefore the KP cash cow has basically had its legs chopped off.