Crystal Palace owner: Who Owns Crystal Palace football club?

Crystal Palace is a club that the current generation of fans may see as a mid-table club, but they are one of the oldest and a club with an illustrious history in English football. Home to one of the most passionate fanbases in football, the club has a rich history with relative successes and overcoming harsh circumstances. 

Over the years, the Croydon-based club has seen a lot of change and progress from its humble beginnings. That said, a lot of the credit belongs to the Crystal Palace owner and the people who have kept the club ticking throughout its nearly 120-year existence. Whilst the club’s origins can be traced all the way back to 1861, it came to be recognized as a professional outfit in 1905.

That said, in this article, we will briefly summarise and gloss over the history of the owners of Crystal Palace, the birth of the club, its historical events, years of turbulence, and finally how things have changed under the current Crystal Palace owners. 

Background

First things first, let’s kick things off with a brief look at the history of the club and its accomplishments. Notably, ‘The Eagles’ have 2 League title wins to their name, whilst finishing as runners-up once. Interestingly, while the club has no FA Cup or EFL title wins to their name, their playoff wins in 1989, 1997, 2004, and 2013 are a division record.

Crystal Palace has never seen triumph in the Premier League or in Europe, let alone qualified for it, they have a rich history in the Regional Competitions, prior to them joining the English top flight. Throughout their existence, Palace have won the London Challenge Cup and the Surrey Senior Cup three times each, with a host of wins in other Cup competitions as well. 

Naturally, Crystal Palace is not the most popular English club. Regardless, it is still considered home by a 2 million strong ardent, and passionate fanbase. In due time, this number will likely increase, owing to movement in the club’s hierarchy. That said, what exactly do we know about the owners of Crystal Palace? Let’s find out.

List of Crystal Palace owners

As is the case with most football clubs, there have been many owners of Crystal Palace throughout its existence. Naturally, the club has almost always had numerous owners and shareholders as well. That said, the origins of the club are somewhat similar to that of what we saw with Aston Villa owner. 

The Crystal Palace Exhibition building in Hyde Park, London, was the birthplace of the Crystal Palace Club in 1857, whose members played cricket before lobbying for the formation of a football club, as a means to continue sporting activities during the winter months. This eventually led to the formation of the Crystal Palace football club in 1861, which later became a professional outfit in 1905.

S No	Name	Years
1	Sydney Bourne	(1906-1930)
2	Louis Bellatti	(1930–1935)
3	R.S. Flew	(1935)
4	Carey Burnett	(1935–36)
5	E.T. Truett	(1936–1939)
6	Percy Harper	(1939–1950)
7	Arthur Wait	(1950, 1958- 1972)
8	Raymond Bloye	(1972- 1981)
9	Ron Noades	(1981- 1998)
10	Mark Goldberg	(1998- 2000)
11	Simon Jordan	(2000- 2010)
12	Steve Parish	(2010- present)
13	Josh Harris and David Blitzer	(2015- present)
14	Robert Franco	(2020-present)
15	John Textor	(2021- present)

The first chairman and owner of Crystal Palace owner and chairman, Sydney Bourne was found thanks to the club secretary, Edmund Goodman who came across the former’s name whilst surveying records of those who purchased FA Cup final tickets each year. After floating the idea of the new club to Bourne, Goodman was able to bring his man on board. Notably, Bourne served as the chairman of the club up until his passing in 1930.

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History of Crystal Palace’s ownership

For the most part, Sydney Bourne’s passing led to the passing of the torch numerous times between 1930 and 1958. During this time, there were numerous owners of Crystal Palace, who had short and mostly unsuccessful stints at the club. Eventually, it was Arthur Wait, who having established a consortium with seven other businessmen took over from Percy Harper in 1950. 

Whilst the chairmanship of the club was rotated from time to time, Arthur Wait finally stepped into the position himself in 1958. With Wait as owner of Crystal Palace, the club began its resurgence from the basement of English football. Having gained promotion in 1960-61, the club welcomed the mighty Real Madrid at Selhurst Park for a historic friendly game in 1962. 

Although a full-strength Madrid team, with the legendary Alfredo Di Stéfano in their ranks, beat Palace 4-3 on the day, it was a big moment for the South London club. Then in 1972, Raymond Bloye became the new owner of Crystal Palace football club, followed by Ron Noades who then made way for Mark Goldberg in 1998 as owners of Crystal Palace. Notably, Noades became the second longest-serving chairman after Sydney Bourne at the time. 

Following Noades’ departure, the club seemingly fell into ruin, before entering administration in 1999. It was at this time that English businessman, media personality, and lifelong Palace fan Simon Jordan as part of a new company called CPFC 2000 took over as the new owner of Crystal Palace. However, the club would once again find itself going into administration until a group of four wealthy fans, forming CPFC 2010, took over as the new owners of Crystal Palace.

Who is the current owner of Crystal Palace? 

Coming to the modern era, CPFC 2010 comprised of Steve Parish, Martin Long, Stephen Browett, and Jeremy Hosking, each of whom had a stake in the club. Notably, the new owners of Crystal Palace also had to repurchase their ground, Selhurst Park from Lloyds Bank, which was made easier thanks to the pressure put on the bank by fans. Currently, Parish who made his name working in computer graphics, owns a 10% stake in the club.

Thereafter in December 2015, investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who run the global company Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, bought their way into the club. Paying a total of £50 million, both investors currently hold an 18% stake each in the club. In March 2020, South African businessman Robert Franco also became an owner of Crystal Palace, with a 5% stake in the club. Lastly, in 2021, American businessman John Textor also became an owner of Crystal Palace. 

Notably, Textor became the largest shareholder, investing £87.5 million for a 40% stake in the club. Since then, the Ligue 1 giants Lyon owner injected £30m to increase his shareholding to around 45 percent, after failed attempts to fully take over the club. Interestingly, Textor has time and again been denied the opportunity to become the only owner of Crystal Palace. 

As a result, in August 2024, John Textor revealed to the media that he had been trying to purchase the remaining shares in the club, to no avail. Thus, owing to numerous attempts he was now looking to sell his shares in Crystal Palace and become the owner of Everton instead. With Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings already having stakes in Lyon in France, Brazilian side Botafogo, and Belgian club Molenbeek, it remains to be seen if Everton will join that list.

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