Chelsea: Stamford Bridge to get Wetherspoons as MPs call for Abramovich raid
Chelsea fans may be protesting about the price of tickets at Stamford Bridge but they’re set to see a cut in the price of a pint with JD Wetherspoon to open a boozer in the summer.
Walham Green has been given a summer opening date and will sit on Fulham Road, just around the corner from Chelsea’s home ground.
The site backs on to Fulham Broadway tube station as well as the location of the homes of 100 military veterans that Chelsea purchased in 2024 for £80m.
The new opening comes as fans are protesting against BlueCo, the investment vehicle that purchased the Stamford Bridge club from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2022.
Abramovich could owe up to £1bn in unpaid tax to HMRC, according to reports last month, while £2.5bn is sitting in a frozen bank account as a result of the sale of the club following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Former Chelsea owner in tax spat
One Labour MP yesterday suggested that the Government could raid Abramovich’s bank account to help fund the uptake in defence spending, according to Politico Playbook, which added that upset members of parliament have been suggesting ways to fund defence spending without cutting the foreign aid budget.
A letter from the former Chelsea owner during the sale process insisted the money would be earmarked “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”.
But a letter to HMRC from MP Joe Powell last month read that Abramovich must be investigated over his taxation status after leaked papers showed associated investments to the tune of nearly £5bn went through the British Virgin Islands despite evidence seen by the BBC suggesting that the UK was involved. This would make him eligible to pay tax in the United Kingdom.
The letter asked HMRC to investigate and, if appropriate, to reclaim any funds potentially owed by Roman Abramovich to the UK tax authorities”.