Flashback 6 Years - Tony Fernandes QPR Plans

[Macmoish]

Flashback 6 Years Today

CNN VIDEO: Fernandes TALKING re QPR Plans
www.cnn.com/video/#/video/sports/2011/08/18/football.qpr.fernandes.cnn?iref=allsearch



CNN - AirAsia's Fernandes takes control at QPR
By Paul Armstrong, CNNAugust 19, 2011

Fernandes explains QPR plans

(CNN) -- Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes has completed his takeover of newly-promoted English Premier League football club, Queens Park Rangers.

The owner of low-cost airline AirAsia purchased a 66% controlling stake in the West London club from Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore. The Mittal family, led by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, will retain their 33% shareholding.

The 47-year old, who was educated in England, admitted he actually followed London rivals West Ham as a youngster but he has "a soft spot" for QPR having lived near the stadium.

"I've always wanted to be involved in football and the appeal of a London Club, like QPR, was too good an opportunity to turn down," he told a press conference at the club's Loftus Road stadium.

"QPR is a raw diamond and hopefully I can contribute into turning it into a diamond."

He will take over as Chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd and be joined on the board by joint Tune Group owner Kamarudin Bin Meranun.

The club also revealed Amit Bhatia will resume his position as Vice Chairman -- he left the club earlier this year following a disagreement with the previous board.
QPR is a raw diamond and hopefully I can contribute into turning it into a diamond.
--New owner Tony Fernandes

QPR won promotion to the Premier League last season, after more than 15 years out of England's top division. The move will earn the club, which went into financial administration in 2001, an estimated $66 million from broadcasting income and other sponsorship.

However Fernandes told CNN he was not a financial "sugar daddy" and planned to build the club sustainably.

"Even if there was a sugar daddy or a sugar mummy, one day that tap would switch off, he said. "That drug is so deep that the club wouldn't be able to respond to not having a gravy-train of cash.

"But if you would a good infrastructure, it doesn't matter who's leading this club, it will go forward."

He told reporters at a press conference Thursday that his ambitions for the club would be realistic. "I could easily say we're going to win the Champions League and the Premier League, but that's really not my style," he said.

"I don't want to make big promises I can't guarantee. I want the fans to be proud of what we're doing and be involved as much as we can. The fans pay good money and are stakeholders, so whatever we do, I want the fans to be proud. We'll do it in style and with integrity.

Far from a novice in the world of professional sport, Fernandes is also the team principal of Formula One's Team Lotus, after spotting the opportunity to reintroduce the legendary carmaker to top level motor racing in 2009. The team went on to achieve their target of tenth place in the FIA Formula One World Championship the following year.

Fernandes hails new Lotus deal Video

Fernandes believes many people have yet to realize the value of sport as a brand. He said the success of his airline -- which in 10 years has gone from flying 200,000 to 32 million passengers -- was linked to its association with sport.

"We've grown this way because we've invested in sport, be it in referees, Manchester United or Formula One," he said.

"So it's all part of interacting and building a community. People need hotels, they love sport, they love entertainment and they need to fly to different places. They are all inter-linked.

"Football is a fantastic branding platform."

After graduating from the London School of Economics in 1987, the entrepreneur worked as an accountant for Richard Branson's Virgin Records brand from 1987 to 1989.

The amateur guitarist went on to become vice-president for Southeast Asia for Warner Music Group from 1992 to 2001.

In a dramatic change of direction, Fernandes left the music industry to buy AirAsia, a bankrupt carrier -- the purchase cost him a token fee of 26 cents.

Since taking over the low fare, no frills airline, he has become known as the Branson of air travel in Asia, a reference to the British entrepreneur's own hugely successful move into the aviation industry.

[Macmoish]

TELEGRAPH

QPR owner Tony Fernandes: I'm a sugar baby

QPR owner Tony Fernandes says he is no "sugar daddy" and that he "wouldn’t have got involved" in owning a Premier League club if he didn't think it was profitable.

Tony Fernandes - Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes I'm not a sugar daddy, or a sugar mummy. Maybe a sugar baby
Tight-lipped: Tony Fernandes, the new Queens Park Rangers owner, refuses to make any promises about spending at Loftus Road and the future of the club Photo: ACTION IMAGES

By Telegraph staff

12:00PM BST 19 Aug 2011

Comments1 Comment

Fernandes, 47, owner of the Team Lotus Formula One team and airline company AirAsia, took control of Queens Park Rangers after he bought out majority shareholder Bernie Ecclestone and former Renault F1 team principal Flavio Briatore.

Rangers suffered a nightmare start to their first Premier League campaign since 1996 when they were thrashed 4-0 by Bolton at Loftus Road on Saturday before Fernandes took over the club.

Following the takeover, the club have identified Shaun Wright-Phillips, Scott Parker and Nedum Onuoha as three main transfer targets before the transfer window closes.

Fernandes, though, has refused to get carried away with his new venture and make any promises to the supporters.

"I’m not someone that’s going to make any promises because I’d rather deliver reality than making big promises like we’ll be in Europe here, or we’ll survive here," he said in an interview with CNN.

"The key thing is to survive this year, the key thing is to start building an infrastructure, and building something the fans can be proud of. And anyone who comes in here and predicts where they’re going to be is killing themselves.

"Football’s a tough game, it’s a tough league. But if you put the building blocks in place, and you’re patient enough, the results will come. The key is a philosophy, and a philosophy can’t be built overnight. A philosophy takes years, and the culture of what you want to do. And let’s see whether we can get there."

Fernandes, also, explained his reasons for diversifying into football.

"People have really not seen the value of sports and branding, I mean some do," he said. "AirAsia’s gone from 200,000 passengers to 32 million in 10 years. I don’t think an airline has grown with so many obstacles put in front of it. We’ve grown this way because we’ve invested in sport, be it on the referees, be it on Manchester United, Formula One etc – so – it’s all part of kind of interacting and building a community.

"If you look at everything, people need hotels, they love sport, they love entertainment, they’re going to fly places, and it’s all interlinking.

"There’s a reason for everything that we’re doing. But I feel football’s a fantastic branding platform for many of the things we are doing.

But, asked CNN, surely a businessman focusing on building brands will lose sight of his sporting interests and, in turn, the supporters?

"Oh no, absolutely not. They’re integrated. You need to build brands to get the budgets for the fans to be able to get the players for them to have success. So they’re very interlinked. Unless you have a big ‘sugar daddy’.

"I’m not a sugar daddy, or a sugar mummy. Maybe a sugar baby".

Asked whether he could make a profit at Loftus Road, Fernades said: "Yes, without a doubt, otherwise I wouldn’t have got involved. And I think the two things; you have to have a sustainable business to be involved, even if there was a sugar daddy or a sugar mummy – one day they switch you off – that drug is so deep that the club wouldn’t be able to respond to not having a gravy train of cash. But if you build a good infrastructure, it doesn’t matter who is leading this club – it will go forward.

"I think [the] Premier League reminds me so much of Formula One. I got into Formula One when the cost cutting came in. And you know, crazy budgets were slashed into much, real profits. And there’s going to be more income coming, with more races, and more television, Formula One will be a very profitable business.

"I believe football, even if you look at the transfers now, the crazy money has come down from it – bar one or two clubs, and it is so popular – anywhere you go in the world – someone knows an English Premier League club. So it’s a fantastic branding opportunity, and I think it’s going to be a very profitable business."

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/queens-park-rangers/8710957/QPR-owner-Tony-Fernandes-Im-a-sugar-baby.html

[ingham]

'Go forward' - dear God.

"You need to build brands to get the budgets for the fans to be able to get the players for them to have success".

Why doesn't he say 'you just win'. You win, and win, and win, the crowds get bigger, and bigger and bigger, you get richer and richer and richer. No snags, piece of cake.

Of course. There never are. And if a little snag arises, investors always know what to do. That's why they lose so much money and their arrivals and departures are like Platform 5 at Victoria.

Let's be more succinct.

Will we spend more than our rivals? It's an important point.

Which ones? ALL of them? No? If not, how will we judge whether they are actually spending more? If we spend £10 million, is that to surpass Watford and Wolves, or Newcastle, Villa and Everton?

How will we know unless he tells us beforehand? I get the impression he doesn't like to say. That would be telling.

And how will this unspecified conjunction of budgets, attendances and successes keep losses down?

And get rid of the Club's liabilities. If he converts the debt to equity, it won't make any practical difference, except in terms of presentation. A debt would only be paid off by creditors when the shares were sold, so it's the investors who are the real liability. They can write off the debt any time, just as they can sell their shares for zero any time.

They haven't, though. And that is the problem.

And if we're not going to spend more than our rivals, will that interesting link between budget, players and success mean they will achieve more but spend less? Maybe, but it goes against the logic of the Premiership, and the frenzied, almost indecently desperate way Clubs scramble for the loot.

Why bother, if SPENDING LESS is the key?

And will we be spending less than other Clubs? Or just less than QPR spent previously? THAT would be interesting, as the outcome of all that spending isn't all THAT impressive to date.

He was careful not to say so, of course. But then, he was careful not to say anything.

But surely the tone of the paragraph about budgets SUGGESTED something more impressive. On the field, in one sense, and off it in another. If football Clubs are such a great partner for Airlines and Hotels and all the rest, why aren't football clubs as PROFITABLE as those businesses?

Why isn't the Emirates headquarters called 'Arsenal'.

[Macmoish]

As always Ingham, you raise some cautionary points...

But in your heart, don't you feel better with Fernandes/Mittal...Than Briatore/Ecclestone?

Not just for the soul of QPR but its future?

But point you made in the past, sure seems right: Somehow Ecclestone made a lot of money out of QPR - without investing much of his own. Good for him; bad for us.

[Macmoish]

And quoted elsewhere: The irony of course is that Fernandes draws different lessons from F1 vis-a-vis QPR than clearly Briatore/Ecclestone did


Autosports - Belgium preview quotes: Lotus


"Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "The whole team has had a good break and now they are all back and ready to get back to work in Belgium. We will do our best in Spa to keep taking measured steps forward and we need to make sure we have put the reliability issues that have affected some of our recent performances behind us.

"Off track, while the team took a deserved rest the last couple of weeks have been as busy as ever for me. We announced this week that we have taken a significant stake in QPR and while that is another new challenge it also opens up some very exciting opportunities for all the businesses I am involved with. One of the most interesting areas we will be looking at straight away is what we can learn in Team Lotus about the interaction between QPR and its fans – across the whole football industry there is a much more integrated day to day relationship with clubs' supporter bases than F1 and its teams have with their fans and I think that we can learn a huge amount very quickly about how we can be even more accessible to our fans than we Team Lotus has been since day one.

"While QPR has obviously been a focus for the last few months we are also progressing exactly as planned with the wider Team Lotus and Caterham Cars group. We have already made a number of very big announcements this year, about our racing, road car and football activities, let alone AirAsia and Tune Group, and there is more to come over the next few months that will keep us moving forward in exactly the right direction."

www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93848

[Jo-Onenil]

The point is not to spend BIG, it is to spend RIGHT! In the past We have spent millions on Pellicori, Alberti, Vine, Clarke, Dave, etc, it doesnt make us better than a team who spent the half of it on one good player though. But Fernandes seems clever and fair, and he has a good point when he says we'll have to have better infrastructure, like an academy to go forward.

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