Who Are The Owners Of Crystal Palace F.C.?
Crystal Palace F.C. is a professional football club based in Selhurst, South London, England. It was founded in 1905 and plays its home games at Selhurst Park.
The club’s nickname is “The Eagles.” Crystal Palace joined the Football League in 1920 and reached the top division for the first time in 1969.
Their best league finish was third place in the 1990-91 season. Although they have reached the FA Cup final twice, they have not won it.
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Crystal Palace Ownership History
Crystal Palace Football Club was started by the Crystal Palace Company, which also ran the amateur team. Sydney Bourne was the first chairman of the club.
He became involved due to the efforts of Edmund Goodman, the club’s secretary. Goodman noticed Bourne’s name in records as someone who regularly bought FA Cup final tickets.
After meeting with him, Goodman found that Bourne supported forming a new club. Bourne was invited to join the board of directors and became the first chairman at the club’s meeting.
He remained in the position until he passed away in 1930. After Bourne’s death, the club had several chairmen in a short period.
These included Louis Bellatti, R.S. Flew, Carey Burnett, and E.T. Truett. Percy Harper then took over and stayed as chairman until 1950.
In 1949, local builder Arthur Wait formed a group of businessmen to buy the club. Wait became the chairman in 1950, initially sharing the role.
By 1958, he was the permanent chairman and stayed in charge until 1972 when Raymond Bloye took over. In 1981, Bloye sold the club to Ron Noades, a property developer.
Noades remained in charge for many years, becoming the second-longest-serving chairman after Sydney Bourne. However, he kept ownership of Selhurst Park, the club’s home stadium, and leased it back to the team.
1998 Noades sold the club to Mark Goldberg, but things did not go well. Under Goldberg’s ownership, the club saw financial trouble and went into administration in 1999.
Fans tried to take control by forming the Crystal Palace Supporters’ Trust. Yet, Simon Jordan, a wealthy lifelong fan, managed to buy the club.
He created a new company called CPFC 2000, which ran the team. Unfortunately, financial issues returned, and the club went into administration again in 2010. Later that year, a group of four wealthy fans called CPFC 2010, took over the club and saved it.
Who Are The Owners Of Crystal Palace F.C.?
In 2010, a group of four businessmen formed a company called CPFC 2010 to save the club from financial trouble. These four people were Steve Parish, Martin Long, Stephen Browett, and Jeremy Hosking.
They each owned an equal 25% share of the company. They worked together to buy the club and its stadium, Selhurst Park, from a bank.
This happened after the fans pressured the bank to sell the stadium back to the club. Over time, new investors joined the ownership team.
In December 2015, two American businessmen, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, invested £50 million in the club. At first, they each owned 18%, but their combined share has now dropped to about 20%.
In 2021, another American businessman, John Textor, became a big investor. He bought 40% of the club for £87.5 million. By 2023, his share had increased to 45%.
Steve Parish, one of the original owners, remains the club’s chairman and still owns about 10% of it. The rest of the shares, around 9%, are owned by smaller investors, including Robert Franco.
Who Is The Majority Owner Of Crystal Palace?
John Textor is the majority owner of Crystal Palace Football Club, holding a 45% stake in the team. Besides Crystal Palace, he owns stakes in other football clubs, including Olympique Lyonnais in France, Botafogo in Brazil, and RWD Molenbeek in Belgium.
His involvement in football is managed through his company, Eagle Football Holdings, which oversees these investments.
Textor joined Crystal Palace in 2021, partnering with co-owners Steve Parish, Josh Harris, and David Blitzer. Textor started his career, working in technology and media.
He became popular for his work with digital effects companies and technology-focused businesses. Early in his career, he bought Sims Snowboards, a company known for its innovation in snowboarding.
He later entered digital media and founded companies that created virtual reality and 3D technologies. One of his most notable achievements was helping develop lifelike digital humans, which were used in Hollywood movies and events like the holographic performance of Tupac Shakur at the Coachella Festival.
In the business, Textor has led several companies. He was instrumental in building Digital Domain, a visual effects company that won an Oscar for its work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Although the company faced financial challenges later, Textor was cleared of wrongdoing and used this experience to launch new ventures.
He also helped grow the sports streaming service FuboTV into a publicly traded company worth billions of dollars. Textor’s investments aim to improve the performance of clubs like Crystal Palace while challenging financial restrictions in European football.
He has been vocal about the challenges smaller clubs face due to financial regulations, which he believes make it harder for them to compete with bigger teams.
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Does Simon Jordan Still Own Crystal Palace?
Simon Jordan no longer owns Crystal Palace Football Club. He became the owner in 2000, buying the club for around £10 million.
As a lifelong fan, he was passionate about Crystal Palace and became its chairman for ten years. During his time, the club had some big moments, including promotion to the Premier League in 2004.
Sadly, they were relegated back to the Championship after just one season. Crystal Palace faced serious money problems during his ownership.
In January 2010, the club went into administration because of rising debts and poor financial management. This forced Jordan to step away from owning the club.
Reports say he lost around £30 million during his time as owner. After he left, a CPFC 2010 group led by Steve Parish took over the club.
This new leadership helped to steady Crystal Palace and make it stronger. After leaving football ownership, Simon Jordan started working in the media.
He is now a sports pundit, especially on Talksport. While he has talked about possibly owning another football club, like Coventry City, he has not made any deals. He has said that owning a football club is very complicated, mostly regarding managing finances and stadium issues.
Kenneth is a an avid soccer follower, fan and writer. He is a consistent follower of the sport and is a fan of Chelsea FC.
