CHELSEA chairman Bruce Buck has revealed that he topped-up his existing shareholding in Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) to the voting maximum of 100 shares just this year.
Mr Buck, who is presently spearheading Chelsea's campaign to buy the freehold of Stamford Bridge back from CPO, says he intends to use those 100 shares to vote in favour of the proposals put to the independent group by the Board of Directors that he chairs.
In a statement today, Chelsea Football Club revealed that Mr Buck's initial CPO share purchase came in 1995 – at a time when the club was aggressively marketing the shares as a way to protect it's Stamford Bridge home from acquisitive property developers. Then he bought just a single share costing £100, as a gift to his son.
Over the course of the last two years, a time when CPO has been far less active in marketing shares, Mr Buck increased that shareholding to the extent that at the coming general meeting called to discussed the offer on October 27, he will have the full voting maximum of 100 shares – valued at £10,000.
In total, around 15,500 CPO shares have been sold since 1993.
A spokesman for Chelsea Football Club said: “The Chairman first purchased a share in Chelsea Pitch Owners as a gift to his son in 1995. He made subsequent share purchases in his own name in 2010 and 2011 and these are clearly shown in the CPO register.
“Mr Buck bought those shares as a fan, and as someone fully supportive of CPO; and is currently the registered holder of 100 shares. Mr Buck intends to vote his shares in favour of the proposal, and has asked others to do the same.”
The CPO register shows that Mr Buck purchased the shares in his own name, and made no attempt to hide the purchases. No other members of his immediate family appear on the CPO register, and it is understood no other members of the Chelsea Board have purchased CPO shares.
CPO shares cannot be traded on the open market, so it would not be possible for Mr Buck to make any direct profit on his shareholding, other than the return of his initial £10,000 outlay. Rules on insider trading applying to quoted shares would therefore not apply in this case. Indeed, Mr Buck would almost certainly deny any conflict of interest.
CPO shares with full voting rights have continued to be available for purchase since the club announced it's bid on October 3: and it is understood that there has been an upsurge in sales since this date.
There is no evidence that anyone directly connected with the club has bought shares since this date, though it is clear that some of those campaigning for a 'no' vote have made purchases - in some cases of multiple shares.
Note: the author of this article wishes to make it known that he is personally the registered holder of one CPO share, purchased in 2011 at a cost of £100. He intends to vote against the club's proposal to buy back the freeholding of Stamford Bridge.
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