Chelsea complete £80m purchase of homes of 100 veterans next to Stamford Bridge

The sale of 100 military veterans' homes next to Stamford Bridge to Chelsea owner's BlueCo has been completed.

The Premier League club cut an £80m deal to buy the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions last October, and it has now been confirmed that the move has gone through, in a boost to Chelsea's plans to spend £2bn on redeveloping their stadium.

Negotiations have been ongoing over the past year, with angry veterans claiming they are being forced out of their homes, while also voicing concerns that they will be 'binned in an old people's home and left to rot'.

But Chelsea and Stoll charity trustees, who run the block of flats, have both moved to allay these fears after releasing statements on Wednesday.

Chelsea CCO Jason Gannon said: 'We are delighted to increase our footprint at Stamford Bridge and take a significant step towards ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the club.

'We appreciate the opportunity to work with Stoll throughout a competitive tender process and we are pleased to help ensure those veterans that wish to remain inside the Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham will be able to do so.'

Stoll chief executive, Will Campbell-Wroe, added: 'The completion of the sale marks a transformational moment for Stoll, and forms a central part of our long standing mission to house and support many more veterans to lead fulfilling, independent lives both now and in the future.

'We understand that any transition to a new home will be challenging for many of our residents, and we are committed to providing every resident with an enhanced programme of financial, wellbeing and rehousing support – as we have been throughout this process.'

Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions, which looks over the Premier League club's west London stadium, has been standing for more than a century and houses around 100 veterans who have served in Korea, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.

They will now have to move out of the three-storey block of flats in the heart of west London, Fulham. Stoll are set to retain 20 flats on the site.

Speaking after cutting the deal in October for the sale to Chelsea, Campbell-Wroe said: 'The veterans are the heart of this organisation and we continue, as we have always done, to act in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries.

'The Chelsea FC ownership group's offer enables us to limit uncertainty for residents and offer support over a longer period of time.

'The site at Fulham is just not fit for purpose for the long term and while this is a difficult time for our residents, it is something we must do, to enable us to support veterans now and in the future.

'We are enhancing our robust support programme for our residents during this process and our commitment to them will continue to be at the forefront of all we do at Stoll.'

The current capacity at Stamford Bridge is 41,000, but the planned expansion is set to increase this figure to 60,000.

This would put Chelsea's stadium into the top six in the Premier League in terms of size, with only Manchester United, Tottenham, West Ham, Liverpool and Arsenal currently having grounds that can hold more than 60,000 supporters.

While the redevelopment takes place, Chelsea are expected to play away from Stamford Bridge for over four years.

Venues that have been floated to host the club whilst the renovations are being undertaken have included Wembley, Twickenham, and Craven Cottage, where their west London neighbours Fulham play.

Boehly is believed to have held informal talks with Fulham's owner Shahid Khan about the possibility of groundsharing, but although representing the most convenient move just one mile down the road, a spell in Craven Cottage - capacity 25,700 - could see the Blues miss out on key revenue.

Should Chelsea's owners opt for a stand-by-stand refurbishment the work could take significantly longer than four to five years, and independent experts have called Chelsea's proposed 2030 finish date 'optimistic'.