Victor Anichebe Plots Full Bromley Takeover After Quiet Summer Behind the Scenes

League One Bromley are the subject of a takeover push led by former Everton, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland striker Victor Anichebe, according to journalist Alan Nixon, who reported on Sunday that the 38-year-old has already taken a leading role behind the scenes at Hayes Lane with a view to securing complete control of the club. The claim has not been confirmed by Bromley, but it lands on a summer of visible involvement: talkSPORT reported in early August that Anichebe was already shaping the club's recruitment ahead of a proposed takeover.

What Nixon reported

Writing on his Patreon on Sunday, Nixon said Anichebe is now deeply embedded at the south London club — to the point of arranging a training camp in Cheshire for Bromley's players during the current international break — and described that involvement as a prelude to a formal bid for full ownership. Football League World and the Sunderland Echo both carried the report, noting that supporter reaction has been mixed, with some fans uneasy about a sale pursued in the name of ambition.

The vehicle behind the move is Lumira Group, described as a long-term holding company investing in sport, education, healthcare and infrastructure across the UK. Anichebe's presence in the boardroom pipeline would complete a fast climb for a club that won promotion to the EFL in 2024 and followed it with another step up to League One at the end of last season.

Second attempt at ownership

For Anichebe, Bromley would be a second shot at club ownership after a proposed deal to buy National League side Gateshead collapsed. Gateshead confirmed at the time that the parties involved had been unable to reach the final agreements required by the relevant governing bodies to complete a sale, with chairman Neil Pinkerton subsequently stepping down and the club saying the failed deal left it facing significant challenges. A Bromley takeover would place him at the helm of an established EFL operation rather than a non-league project.

Why it matters

A completed sale would make Anichebe one of the few former Premier League players to own an EFL club outright, and would test the league's owners' and directors' test on a buyer whose fortune sits outside football. Bromley have climbed rapidly through the divisions in recent years, and the question the club's supporters are now asking is whether new investment is the price of a push toward the Championship — or a risk to a identity built the slow way.

No bid has been formally lodged with the EFL, and neither Bromley nor Lumira Group has commented publicly. The story remains, for now, a reported one — but the training camp, the summer recruitment influence and Nixon's account all point in the same direction.

Reported by Ines Kovač from reporting by Alan Nixon (via Football League World and the Sunderland Echo) and talkSPORT. All takeover claims are as reported and unconfirmed by Bromley FC or Lumira Group. Cover image: Hayes Lane, home of Bromley FC, via Wikimedia Commons (geograph), Creative Commons licence.