A consortium led by Chinese-American investor Chien Lee, who owns French football club Nice, is in talks to buy a stake in English second-tier club Brentford FC in what would be the latest China-linked investment in a European soccer team.
Mr Lee, co-founder of one of China’s biggest budget hotel groups, has previously tried to buy English Premier League clubs Hull City and Middlesbrough.
His consortium is in talks with the owner of Brentford, gambling tycoon and life-long fan Matthew Benham, about acquiring a possible 50 per cent stake in the west London club, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. The two parties have discussed a sale price in the region of £25m-£30m, which would give the club an equity valuation of £50m-£60m.