Abramovich defies Starmer with new foundation plan for £2.4bn Chelsea funds April 1, 2026 Roman Abramovich has responded to Keir Starmer’s legal threats to claim the £2.4bn sum raised from selling Chelsea by taking steps to set up a new foundation. An application for the creation of the Foundation for Victims of Conflict will be made this week with the Charity Commission, without the permission of the government. No10 [...]
Will AI replace gambling as Premier League front-of-shirt preference? March 29, 2026 AI companies have set their sights on sports. The Premier League already has competition-wide AI deals with Microsoft and Adobe, and recently Chelsea FC cut a front of shirt deal with industrial AI company IFS. These firms are in an extraordinary period of growth, and they have deep pockets to elevate their brands. They know [...]
Cole Palmer: Why Chelsea and England star trademarked ‘Cold Palmer’ celebration March 27, 2026 With Cole Palmer set for the Fifa World Cup this summer, why did he choose to trademark his Cold Palmer celebration? City AM asked the team behind the move. “Intellectual property: intangible property that is the result of creativity, such as patents, copyright or other,” the Oxford Dictionary says. It’s something we’d expect to be [...]
London’s £10m secret: how the rich buy super-prime property March 25, 2026 Each year brings renewed predictions of a correction in London’s high-end residential market, often portraying it as mercurial and susceptible to abrupt shifts. However, in my experience on the ground, the city’s genuine super-prime segment, properties transacting in excess of £10m, continues to operate according to its own distinct dynamics. Rather than exhibiting signs of [...]
Clubs like Chelsea won’t be able to hide from regulator scrutiny March 22, 2026 English football is a global entertainment and cultural powerhouse, contributing more than £9bn annually to the UK economy. Matches are broadcast to hundreds of millions worldwide, with clubs operating not just as teams but as global brands. But with that status comes increased scrutiny of how clubs are run. Under the new Independent Football Regulator [...]
Football missing bank-grade infrastructure as regulator powers grow March 19, 2026 English football is entering a new era: the Premier League has just handed Chelsea a record fine for hidden payments, while the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) is starting to flex its intentions to improve financial soundness and resilience across the pyramid. The latest licensing proposals go further, allowing the regulator to categorise clubs as “high‑risk” [...]
Government ‘must not delay’ over Abramovich’s £2.5bn Chelsea funds, Tories say March 18, 2026 Shadow chancellor Mel Stride has insisted the government “must not delay taking further action” against Roman Abramovich to unlock £2.5bn held after his sale of Chelsea. The Russian was forced to offload the Premier League club in 2022 after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with the proceeds of the sale to a consortium led by [...]
Shadow bank collapse floods London with hundreds of luxury properties March 17, 2026 London’s super prime property market is set to be flooded with hundreds of luxury homes following the collapse of one of Britain’s biggest shadow banks. Mansions in Kensington, Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Mayfair are being put on sale by administrators for Market Financial Solutions (MFS), all of which were controlled by individuals with links to the [...]
Chelsea hit with £11m fine and Premier League transfer ban March 16, 2026 Chelsea have been slapped with a £11m fine and a transfer ban for breaching Premier League rules under their previous ownership. An investigation into the London club found “undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties” between 2011 and 2018, when the club was [...]
London property prices: Canary Wharf defies market trends February 20, 2026 Canary Wharf has become a hotspot for prime property in London with the number of homes listed for more than £1m, jumping 40 per cent in 2025 according to our annual Property Index. The index, which analyses listing data from Greater London and the Home Counties, found that 466 properties in the Docklands were listed [...]