The shareholder, the singer, the supermodel & Paris HiltonUpdated: December 20th, 2006

There aren’t many Man City shareholders who have been jilted by an international pop star in favour of a supermodel.

But then there aren’t many shareholders like Camilla Boler.

Following the death of her tycoon father in 1998, Camilla, along with brothers Nick, Mark and Matthew and sister Sarah-Jane, inherited the family fortune estimated at £120million. That included a 23% stake in Manchester City PLC which, following the sale of shares to BSkyB, now stands at 18.75%.

Camilla was also the girlfriend of singer James Blunt for two years until their split in April. Blunt’s worldwide hit, You’re Beautiful, was dedicated to her.

Following the split, Blunt dated supermodel Petra Nemcova and according to this gossip has been romantically linked with billionairess Paris Hilton.

In a Daily Telegraph story from July 2005, a close friend of Blunt offers this view of Camilla:

“She’s a lovely girl, but quirky, to put it mildly. She used to tell people she was a white witch, and is still really into the occult.”

But in an interview with Grazia magazine Camilla hit back at the sniping:

“What bothers me most is that throughout all this I’ve been portrayed as this silly socialite victim. I am an heiress, but my life hasn’t been easy,” she said.

The Boler family are no strangers to tragedy. Less than five years after the untimely death of her father Stephen Boler following a heart attack in South Africa, Camilla lost her eldest brother Nick, who died of a heart attack in his sleep aged 33.

Whether Camilla takes any interest in City is unknown. Her brother Mark, who joined the City board in January, now looks after the family’s football interests.

Mark, who owns the Mere golf club and is a scratch golfer, has said the 18.75% stake would be for sale at the right price. It is not clear how active a role he plays at the club.

A timeline and news archive about the Boler family can be found here.

More on City’s finances

An excellent series of articles about City’s finances has been published by a group of fans who are trying to establish a supporters trust at the club.

The first two parts can be found at their MCFC Supporters Trust site. Part 3 was published at MCIVTA here.

Supporters trusts pool the shares owned by fans into one democratic body. City are one of the few English league clubs still to establish one, so I wish these guys the best.

I’ve studied City’s accounts myself, and while they make fascinating reading, you do wonder how much is being masked by clever accounting. Maybe this story from the Daily Telegraph sheds some light on the board’s approach to finance.

In 2002, when John Wardle was still chairman of JD Sports, the firm bought the sport and leisure arm of Black’s Leisure. On Black’s numbers it made a £4.05million profit. But thanks to what the Daily Telegraph called “JD’s more aggressive accounting”, Wardle announced profits at £5.25m.

Same numbers, two sets of accountants and two very different results.

The shareholder, the singer, the supermodel & Paris HiltonUpdated: October 23rd, 2006

There aren’t many Man City shareholders who have been jilted by an international pop star in favour of a supermodel.

But then there aren’t many shareholders like Camilla Boler.

Following the death of her tycoon father in 1998, Camilla, along with brothers Nick, Mark and Matthew and sister Sarah-Jane, inherited the family fortune estimated at £120million. That included a 23% stake in Manchester City PLC which, following the sale of shares to BSkyB, now stands at 18.75%.

Camilla was also the girlfriend of singer James Blunt for two years until their split in April. Blunt’s worldwide hit, You’re Beautiful, was dedicated to her.

Following the split, Blunt dated supermodel Petra Nemcova and according to this gossip has been romantically linked with billionairess Paris Hilton.

In a Daily Telegraph story from July 2005, a close friend of Blunt offers this view of Camilla:

“She’s a lovely girl, but quirky, to put it mildly. She used to tell people she was a white witch, and is still really into the occult.”

But in an interview with Grazia magazine Camilla hit back at the sniping:

“What bothers me most is that throughout all this I’ve been portrayed as this silly socialite victim. I am an heiress, but my life hasn’t been easy,” she said.

The Boler family are no strangers to tragedy. Less than five years after the untimely death of her father Stephen Boler following a heart attack in South Africa, Camilla lost her eldest brother Nick, who died of a heart attack in his sleep aged 33.

Whether Camilla takes any interest in City is unknown. Her brother Mark, who joined the City board in January, now looks after the family’s football interests.

Mark, who owns the Mere golf club and is a scratch golfer, has said the 18.75% stake would be for sale at the right price. It is not clear how active a role he plays at the club.

A timeline and news archive about the Boler family can be found here.

More on City’s finances

An excellent series of articles about City’s finances has been published by a group of fans who are trying to establish a supporters trust at the club.

The first two parts can be found at their MCFC Supporters Trust site. Part 3 was published at MCIVTA here.

Supporters trusts pool the shares owned by fans into one democratic body. City are one of the few English league clubs still to establish one, so I wish these guys the best.

I’ve studied City’s accounts myself, and while they make fascinating reading, you do wonder how much is being masked by clever accounting. Maybe this story from the Daily Telegraph sheds some light on the board’s approach to finance.

In 2002, when John Wardle was still chairman of JD Sports, the firm bought the sport and leisure arm of Black’s Leisure. On Black’s numbers it made a £4.05million profit. But thanks to what the Daily Telegraph called “JD’s more aggressive accounting”, Wardle announced profits at £5.25m.

Same numbers, two sets of accountants and two very different results.