QPR ISSUES

MARCH 2005 - FROM LSA

23rd March\LSA Meeting With Club Representatives Part Two Present: Bill Power, Kevin McGrath, Gianni Paladini, Mark Devlin, Kim Holloway, Ian Holloway, Victor Stevenson, Sylvie Dallibar, Paul Finney, Tommy Collins, Paul Fisher, Spencer Schwartz, Ray Cutler, Steve Rapjohns & myself. Minutes Taken On Behalf Of The LSA By Catherine McGuinness. Consortium Bid The main reason for the meeting was an opportunity for further explanation from the Board regarding the Consortium bid. We were told that the bid came in the form of a letter from Ross Jones on behalf of a Consortium offering £2.5m. They wanted four directors on the Board, which in effect would take control of the Club and this was not acceptable. As the names of the people behind the Consortium bid were never officially made known, the Board felt that this was too much of a risk to take. Basically, the offer was not nearly enough money and anyone wishing to purchase the Club, would have to pay off the ABC loan and provide working capital to take the Club forward, around £20 - £25m would be required. KM said that solidarity was now paramount and the Club is a tight unit. Cashflow remains very tight but the Club is in a much better position all round than say, nine months ago. GP said that we should all focus on the future and not dwell on the past. Ian Holloway who up to this point was sitting calmly at one end of the table then jumped in and said that we should be careful how we put our Report out, rumours are rife he said but they are, "bullshit", there is unity and QPR are moving forward. At this point it was asked if all the conjecture and rumours had effected the players ? "No" was the reply. Ian Holloway spoke about budgets being wrong, £500,000 wrong ! Kevin added that the budget was up but down in cash terms. IH followed up by saying that his department had been cut but other outgoings had gone up. This situation has not changed. KM said that Mark Devlin's return had been a huge boost to the Club, sentiments which we endorsed. The LSA asked whether others were trying to run the Club down ? KM said that it appeared that 'others' were waiting for things to go wrong and then seize their opportunity ! BP said that they were still in talks with the ABC Legal team and KM said about the difficulties of getting £10m from any major Banks but they have two specialists working on finding alternative funding solutions. GP stated that everyone is paid up to date and that they have an agreed payment plan with the Inland Revenue to tackle the previous outstanding monies of approx £2m. Bill added that the past six months had been spent paying off debts and this continues. KM then said that they will have the chance of a loan from another Bank next year once they had proved they can operate more efficiently and to plan. We asked if there had been a waste of expenditure in the past and KM responded by saying that the situation had been rectified. Match day costs have been reduced substantially since the introduction of a new Safety Officer who, incidently is a contractor and not an employee of the Club, MD had worked with him at Swindon Town. There had been huge expenditure on pay-offs !!!!!! Also a lawyer had looked through legal documents and there had been discussions with the Football League, We were reminded ( not that we needed it ) that the Old Regime did not have money, they weren't losing their own cash. Gianni added that they must not borrow more money as the easy option but, " Pull In Our Belts And Work Hard." MD said that they appeared to have no business plan, other than to find someone, anyone to invest in the Club and help with the losses. The loan saga was brought in again, the rate change at the last minute etc etc. GP said that all this reiterates that QPR are ok.....and, " Lets aim for the Premiership ! " At this point, IH said that we should all stop looking for blame, the people here are now genuine and want to move forward, one step at a time, stop looking back, the fans deserve the truth but must stop looking for blame ! KM then said that it had been a great Season both on the field and business wise, they had got rid of the plc to bring QPR together. The LSA repeated the urgent need to strip Wright of the Life Presidency as we consider it insulting ! IH said that Wright was not to blame, he spent a fortune but the money was badly spent. KM added that, " Wright is a QPR fan (?) who put money in but it was bad management. The Club is currently negoaiting with him over shares and the (non) return of Wasps to LR. " Although I respect that the Club are currently negotiating with him, at this point, I had to respond to all this, which I did ! Training Ground. (a) The bid for the BAA Training Ground in Hayes had been unsuccessful. (b) A bid of £2.1m for BBC Motspur Park had been placed, but Wasps were also chasing it ! (c) There was an auction bid for a site in Ruislip the previous Monday but it went for silly money. Basically, they are looking at 20acres, so that the First team, Reserves, Youth/Kids teams plus the Ladies could all train at the same place. The Imperial College, who owned Chxxxxa's previous Training Ground had asked to meet them. KM said that the Club need a flagship Training Ground and that they should buy flats/houses for players. This would also be a sound investment for the Club. IH added, " We need to look after players." and GP said, " We need facilities for the players." Players. IH then spoke about some of the players, " We need a seperate structure to improve the squad, we need a bigger squad. Young players need to be worked on and their training personalised. He then thanked the LSA for all their hard work and help with fundraising etc. He spoke about the recent appointment from Arsenal who is focusing on recruiting 15/16 year olds from Premiership Academies. Of the eight scholars being released, he said that selection should be more frugal in the future. On the arrival of Rossi, IH was full of praise, he feels that he is very promising, has a positive attitude and told us what a character he was and how popular he was with the other players. On the speculation of Les Ferdinand returning, IH just said about the very high wage he was on which the Club couldn't match. We said about the big problem there is with the leaking of stories on players that we are/could be interested in. IH said that the Club struggles to keep a lid on such stories and referred to some of them ( the four 1st Team players set to be replaced ) as another story of complete lies. BP said about the London Evening Standard ( ahem ) constantly misquoting. IH referred to George Burley's U-turn on Lee Camp. We thanked all at the Club for supporting our last Kids Christmas Party. Many thought that it was the best ever. IH said that in future for everything to run smoothly, we should contact his PA, Caroline, but to give her as much notice as possible. At which point, we gave formal notice of our Player Of The Year Do ! A question was asked on behalf of a Member regarding Kevin Gallen. IH said, " Gallen keeps the ball and has given his all. to anyone that says that I have to keep him as Captain, I say SHUT THE HELL UP, I PICK HIM COZ I RATE HIM. He isn't the Captain I want but he cares for this Club. There is nothing in his contract that says that he has to play. We asked about McLeod, we were told by IH and the Board that he wanted to go. They offered him a one year contract but he wanted three. On Aaron Brown, IH said that we will see the better of him next year. He was seeing a sprint specialist and felt that he was a good future investment. He said that he felt that Martin Rowlands was a different fella this Season ? Season Tickets We had been told earlier that also on the agenda would be our take on new Season Ticket prices. We got as far as being told that prices needed to be increased and would be advised at a later date. Well, they are supposed to be going on sale in a few weeks time ! There would still be a scheme to give fans a chance to pay in installments, family packages would still be available and prices will be competitive with Clubs such as Watford and Reading. Ground Expansion (again). GP said that this Borough had a good track record for granting permission to expand Grounds. KM spoke of the possibility of a 25 - 30,000 capacity. MD added that the parking issue must be addressed which was no easy feat in London and that they couldn't hold in-house hospitality at present. Agreed that expansion is needed but caution must be exercised. Aspirations For The Club. KM said that we must keep on an even keel and that at the start of the year the hope was that we wouldn't go bust. so to that extent we have over achieved ! IH said that we weren't far away from a very good side in this Division and that , " We are as good as our worst player." GP concluded with, " December was a bad month, we played with a small squad and suffered injuries." BP had to leave for a prior engagement and gradually the proceedings broke up. I asked IH to sign his book of quotes for our ongoing fundraising for Joe Gallen, which he kindly did. In Conclusion I wanted to split the Meetings up again so that as before, we could clear up the more direct 'bullet' questions faster in a Q and A with Mark Devlin than say incorporating everything in the Main Meeting with up to twenty people in attendence. I minuted the previous one and have to say that it is very difficult to take notes and also be part of the Meeting. The LSA once again thank Catherine McGuinness for all her help, it is very much appreciated. The other problem to mention is that there are times when points overlap, conversations break out from time to time. Yes we could have a very formal neeting that is chaired but overall its just about right. This Report did take a lot longer than I anticipated but as I said on the LSA Message Board recently, anything considered 'earth shattering' would be put out immediately and there were a number of problems this time that hindered its completion. Steve Russell
http://www.qpr-lsa.co.uk/05febmar.htm



LSA - FEBRUARY 2005

24th FebruaryLSA Meeting With Club Representatives On Thursday 17th February - Part One Present: Mark Devlin, Steve Russell and Paul Finney. Minutes Taken On Behalf Of The LSA By Catherine McGuiness. Andy Morley Blackpool LSA Member, Andy Morley, made an offer recently to the Club of free Marketing consultancy from time to time along with possible hotel deals. (Andy worked for a League Club and helped out a lot of R's fans with their hotel bookings and entertainment packages for our last visit to Blackpool) Mark said that he will be in contact with Andy in the near future. Cash MachinesA Member mentioned recently about the feasibilty of the Club raising extra revenue through the introduction of cash machines. Mark said that The Alliance and Leicester had approached Swindon Town FC and that any machines would need to be free standing. Mark added that the Club would only make a small profit but would investigate the possibilty. Ground Expansion Mark said that the Club were awaiting feedback and reports from planners. The company responsible for renovating Leyton Orient's ground now have plans on disc and are looking at the options available. Expansion would be difficult but not impossible. Leyton Orient covered the costs by putting flats on the corners of the ground. Promotion Incentives Mark explained that as there are so many Season Ticket holders, a record 10,700, the only reductions feasible are in the School End Upper Tier. The Club can offer some reductions but they don't have much scope as most visiting Clubs require some use of that area. Club Accounts The lateness of the Club accounts was raised and we were told that they are now with the Auditors to be signed off. They should be ready by the end of February and the delay was basically down to the amount of work required and available man power (or lack of it).£2 Telephone Booking Fee A Member raised the point that he introduces many friends and family over the course of a Season and feels that he is being hammered over the £2 booking fee each time. Mark said that the credit card charges help out with the admin costs as the Club are charged for each transaction. He expects that the Internet ticket service which is due in the Summer, will be a 'live' system and will allow purchasers to select the best seats available. Furthermore, it is hoped that in time this service will carry no booking charge and just a nominal postage fee. Club Membership An LSA Member in Gibraltar wants to know why its not possible to become a Club Member online ? Mark said that he was in negotiations with Synchro to offer online Membership and Season Tickets for next Season. Season Ticket Deadline This has been a contentious issue in the past and Mark stated that Season Tickets can be paid for between the second week of April through to the 31st May. Prices will have to increase. There is an installment plan with low interest charges, however the Club would like to take this service over. Ironically, the high amount of Season Ticket sales has hit the Club's cashflow hard. The Empty Kiosk In The Corner Of The Lower Loft Mark said that when it was a retail unit, sales often didn't reach more than £250 per game. Dew Valley Foods in conjunction with the Stadium caterers revamped the site into a refreshment unit and probably due to a mixture of low usage 3/4 years ago and pricing, the unit was not profitable and was subsequently closed by the caterer. Incidently, the catering contract is up for renewal at the end of the Season and any new caterer (even in-house) will be expected to look at re-opening the unit. Members Bar The sale of beer and liquid refreshment is still covered by the current catering contractors. The Club will look for brewery sponsorship. The Members Bar is very busy and could be "smarter." Sports TV have installed flat screen tv's which has improved the decor but agreed that its generally bland and in need of an update. It was suggested that a QPR theme similar to that in the Club's Main Reception would be a big improvement. Possibility Of Large Screens Inside The StadiumRay Cutler joined the Meeting at this point and asked if they were a possibilty. Mark said that they were not presently part of any plan but agreed that they could be an effective advertising medium. Harold Winton had wanted to install them but proved to be incredibly expensive. Screens costs £30/40k second hand and the installation would lead to the inevitable loss of some seating. Kit VoteThis vote provoked a lot of debate on the LSA Board and elsewhere and there were 2,500 votes cast, however those fans without internet access were unable to vote. Mark said that the Club can't please everyone but was an improvement on last year. Mark was then asked if there were really three possibilities ? and he stated that there were only prototypes made of those that they thought would be acceptable to the fans, however if they had voted for one without a prototype, the Club would still have time to make it up. New kits will be ready for the trip to Ibiza. The away kit will be available from the 1st June and the home one from the 1st July. This was an opportunity to have another moan about the light blue kit but Mark pointed out that sales had been very good ! He said that it was felt that two kits were enough. Closing Points With the arrival of Bill Power, Gianni, Kevin McGrath and Mr and Mrs Holloway in another room for the main Meeting, we ran out of time as usual and concluded with a few brief points. Speaking generally from an LSA perspective, there was a general gratitude expressed by many Members about the general improved contact with fans and the improved accessibilty of information when possible from the new regime. Mark said that PTV operate 76 Websites and the QPR World part of it has the largest number of subscribers and I think this includes 5 Premier Clubs ? The Avertising and Betting on there generates a lot of extra income for the Club and is actually more than the other 75 Clubs. We asked how many players contracts were up at the end of the Season and we were told that it was 10 and that it had been discussed with Ian Holloway. Jude's 'red card' was brought up and Mark said that no appeal was planned as nothing had been received from the FA. The incident had been reported as far afield as the USA. The main Meeting will go up as soon as possible as Part Two. Steve Russell
http://www.qpr-lsa.co.uk/05febmar.htm


SEPTEMBER 2004

31'st October
Report of LSA Meeting With Club Representatives( Part A ) Joe Gallen, Terry Springett and Bobby Ross.Myself and Paul Finney met up with Joe Gallen, Terry Springett and Bobby Ross first, mainly to discuss further fundraising ideas and it was of course an opportunity to talk more generally about our Youth Set-up.I was very pleased to tell them that we had raised a further £2,000 to go with the £1,800 we handed over at the end of last Season. Sylvia Dallibar was hoping to make the meeting but it was too early for her and the cheque was passed over to Mark Devlin at the main Meeting later on in the evening.We were told that there was to be a Recruitment Officer appointed in the very near future.This was to be a senior position with responsibility to Joe and would be in charge of all the Scouting, from the 8/9's age group and all the way up with obviously a team of Scouts.It was good to hear that there was a shake-up taking place and with Scott Donnelly making his debut things are looking much better.Someone asked the question on the LSA Message board about Joe's Coaching qualifications, he said that he had a UEFA A licence and a Science of Sports Degree.Another question was to do with a boys team from Mill Hill and Joe's phone number was passed on to the person who asked the question.The impression given was that the new Board were more geared towards the Youth set-up than the previous regime (ahem)We ran out of time but came away with an excellent sponsorship idea from Terry which I mentioned to Mark Devlin and there should be news of this in the near future.( Part B ) StewardingI was going to speak to Mark Devlin in detail about some of the serious individual Stewarding problems at Loftus Road recently but apart from a very brief summary of them and passing on the information/Witness Reports to him, we ran out of time unfortunately.
( Part C ) Main Meeting and Representing the Club: Bill Power and Mark DevlinLSA Committee Members In Attendance: Vic Stevenson, Joe English, Sylvia Dallibar, Gary Colton, Paul Finney, Spencer Schwartz, Steve Rapjohns, Albert Weight and Myself.Training GroundIt was confirmed that the Club are still looking at a number of sites and it was also pointed out that the Club are also still currently liable for health and safety issues there.WaspsMark Devlin said that there were new rules which require all Clubs to operate from stadia with a minimum capacity of 12,500. Wycombe's ground only holds 10,000 and Wasps need to give provisional indication of their plans by 31st December. A final decision is required by March 2005. The Club believe that they would prefer to stay at Wycombe, however they are contracted to play at Loftus Road for the next eight years and would expect them to honour that agreement or pay the compensation. It is believed that the compensation would be approx £1.5m.Loftus RoadThere have been no discussions with any other Clubs relating to sharing Loftus Road.Home/Away KitThe Club said that they discussed reverting to a new home and away kit every Season to help raise funds. They agreed to look at reducing the cost of replica kit if this was to be the case. They confirmed that a kit vote would take place in January 2005 to decide the design of next Season's home and away shirts.
Previous Regime\This subject is obviously a very emotive one and much has already been said about the mis-management of our Club. If the Board had gone ahead with the budgets set, we would be in Administration again by now !!!!!\\ABC and the Loan\\The Club spoke about its deep dissatification with the situation arising from the ABC loan, especially the fact that the man responsible for leading the administration at the Club, Ray Hocking, had now left BDO Stoy Hayward and was working for ABC. This would appear to be a serious conflict of interest\\CES\\They have not been paid in full as the Club are seeking financial redress for the period that we were not operating at full capacity.\Along with nearly all Clubs, they said that they are under pressure to get R\'s fans to sit down during the normal passage of play. The Stewards are acting under instructions and the Club hopes that fans will understand that no-one is seeking confrontation, they are simply trying to comply with the rules of the safety certificate. If they fail, one option is to reduce the capacity on safety grounds. The Club suggested that one route for the fans to take was to join with other groups of supporters and make their feelings known to the Football League and the licensing authorities\\Upper School End\\The Club confirmed that it would operate promotions to fill the seats in the Upper School End whenever possible. Apparently it is only possible to do so when the information is that the visiting Club will definitely bring less than 1,000 fans. If that is not the case,for safety reasons, the Upper Stand has to be available for contingency.\It is possible that the Club will offer Rangers fans the opportunity to buy tickets in this area for the Wigan game, but only after the other areas have filled up\For the Crewe match on 28th December,the Club plans to run a family based promotion, for this area.\\Club Membership\\An LSA Member from Gibraltar asked why it wasn\'t possible to take out Club Membership on-line.Mark Devlin said that he would look into it.Previous RegimeThis subject is obviously a very emotive one and much has already been said about the mis-management of our Club. If the Board had gone ahead with the budgets set, we would be in Administration again by now !!!!!ABC and the LoanThe Club spoke about its deep dissatification with the situation arising from the ABC loan, especially the fact that the man responsible for leading the administration at the Club, Ray Hocking, had now left BDO Stoy Hayward and was working for ABC. This would appear to be a serious conflict of interest.CESThey have not been paid in full as the Club are seeking financial redress for the period that we were not operating at full capacity. Along with nearly all Clubs, they said that they are under pressure to get R's fans to sit down during the normal passage of play. The Stewards are acting under instructions and the Club hopes that fans will understand that no-one is seeking confrontation, they are simply trying to comply with the rules of the safety certificate. If they fail, one option is to reduce the capacity on safety grounds. The Club suggested that one route for the fans to take was to join with other groups of supporters and make their feelings known to the Football League and the licensing authorities.Upper School EndThe Club confirmed that it would operate promotions to fill the seats in the Upper School End whenever possible. Apparently it is only possible to do so when the information is that the visiting Club will definitely bring less than 1,000 fans. If that is not the case, for safety reasons, the Upper Stand has to be available for contingency. It is possible that the Club will offer Rangers fans the opportunity to buy tickets in this area for the Wigan game, but only after the other areas have filled up for the Crewe match on 28th December, the Club plans to run a family based promotion, for this area.Club MembershipAn LSA Member from Gibraltar asked why it wasn't possible to take out Club Membership on-line. Mark Devlin said that he would look into it.
Chris Wright and His Shares\I said that we were anxious to enter phase two of the LSA Campaign to help secure Wright\'s shares after the dignified protest before the Swansea match.\Bill said that Kevin McGrath was in the middle of negotiations.\\The rest of the time available was spent talking about Wright and Bill Power had to leave at about 7.45pm to meet his business partner and once again gave his apologies.\Unfortunately there was very little time to discuss very much, having said that, the lines of communication are open and they are all generally approachable.\Steve Russell\http://www.qpr-lsa.co.uk/04sepoct.html


LSA - OCTOBER 2004 -
15th OctoberGianni Paladini Wants A Showdown - Marylebone and Paddington MercuryThere was a very interesting article by Paul Warburton in last week's Marylebone and Paddington Mercury. Gianni Paladini said that he would like a showdown with the previous Board to find out why they took out the £10m loan with ABC. The loan costs £1m a year in interest alone and when Gianni invested around £600,000 in May for 22.1% of company shares, instead of being welcomed, he was snubbed by members of the previous regime ! The former football agent believes that former Chairman, Nick Blackburn, Chief Executive, David Davies and plc Chairman, Ross Jones would have little to do with him.
He said, "I wasn't welcome the minute after I got involved with the Club. I tried but couldn't get answers about the finances of the Club, especially when I would ask David Davies.
For a long time it was like banging my head on the wall. It appears that Bill Power would get phone calls asking him what I was doing at the Club and yet I had brought a large sum of money and was keen to see what I was getting for my investment"
He alleges that Rangers were two weeks away from a second bout of administration which would carry a immediate fine of 10 points !
"We faced a bill from the Tax and the VAT man of around £2m, we hadn't got it and had no way of getting it at the time, quite frankly we were at the wall. I made a plea to my friend Antonio Caliendo in Monte Carlo to help. He had contacts going back 30 years. I told him if he couldn't help, I would lose all my money. I've never lost money in football and he must have thought it was shrewd on my behalf and we set about getting the money.
They persuaded other Monte Carlo businessmen to raise the money and they bought the company name Barnaby Holdings especially for that purpose.Gianni said, " We've paid the immediate bill but why did we have to borrow £10m ? We didn't have a £10m debt The loan was agreed at 8% and at the last minute -not the last hour -the details of the loan was changed to 10% - take it or leave it ! The previous Board claimed that the Football League forced them to do it but I've spoken to the League and they say that's not true, but I want to know the truth" Steve Russell http://www.qpr-lsa.co.uk/04sepoct.html


17th SeptemberQ And A With Bill Power On Chris Wright's Shares SR: You were quoted in one of the Locals recently as saying and I quote,"Despite what the fans think, we're moving towards a situation where he will give the shares back" I was surprised to read that,can you elaborate. BP: I was misquoted or misunderstood on this. CW has always been willing to talk to the Club, what we have to do is come to a amicable agreement with him. My own feelings on this are, that I would hope that he could see it within himself to offer his shares back to the Club so that we could benefit 100%. CW would still like to return to QPR to watch games and if he could be persuaded to offer his shares back I'm certain he would be welcomed back by all as a true fan of the Hoops. SR: After the start of our campaign before and during the recent Swansea home game, has there been any contact from Wright ? BP: Yes, Kevin McGrath met CW recently and had a very amicable meeting where he expressed a willingness to come to a deal over his shares. My thanks to all those involved in the Demonstration for acting so responsibly. SR: Do you understand why we are protesting about CW's shares ? BP: I wish that R's fans shouldn't have to protest. I have total sympathy as to why you are doing it. SR: Kevin McGrath said at the recent AGM that he would be contacting Chris Wright when he (Wright) returned from holiday regarding his shareholding. What was the outcome of this ? BP: Yes, see above. SR: Ross Jones also said at the AGM that he would offer his shares to the Club and split the residue from the sale. Has this now transpired or is it still in the process of being offered to an Investor ? BP: Ross has already done a deal as promised and 3.5p per share came to the Club and 3p to Ross as was his commitment at the AGM. SR: In your opinion, would it be more beneficial for CW's shares to be offered directly to the Club or via a third party such as a Fans Group ? BP: Without any shadow of a doubt it will be far more beneficial to the Club to get his shares. With the absolute best will in the world, I cannot see the sense of anyone other than the Board receiving the shares from CW. SR: Given that he will do 'The Wright Thing' and he hands them over, how would they be used ? BP: We are already negotiating with a Group to purchase the shares as and when an acceptable deal can be done with CW. SR: So there are people willing to invest if the shares become available. BP: Yes, we have several potential Investors who wish to purchase shares for the benefit of the Club. Where we have a problem is that they are very uncomfortable with funds not going totally to the Club. For that reason Kevin will be negotiating further with CW. SR: I understand that if Wright's shares became available to an Investor that they would be worth over half a million to the Club, is that figure accurate ?BP: If we can persuade CW to give back the shares to the Club gratis, it would mean a minimum of £650,000 to the Club and would be a very generous thing for him to do. SR: Lastly Bill, what role as fans can we do to help the situation ? BP: Without wishing to sound the least bit condescending, I don't know what as a Club we can ask more of our fans than we already have and to which the response has always been overwhelming. The help we have received both financially and physically has been a big part in the saving of QPR. Without the help of Organisations such as 'Our QPR' and incredibly generous individuals, I shudder to think what might have been! Steve Russell
http://www.qpr-lsa.co.uk/04sepoct.html




QPR 1st
6th October
QPR1st 28 September 04 meeting with QPR board - minutes Present * From QPR1st: Justin Pieris, Geoff Gibbs, David Price, with Roger de Freitas as minute taker. * From QPR: Mark Devlin, Dave Anderson, Bill Power Rules of engagement There were no specific rules of engagement, unlike our dealings with the previous incumbents at QPR. BP indeed made a great show of his openness and willingness to keep us informed and to answer questions.. Minute taker's observation; this was, as on a previous occasion, an encounter full of discussion and observations and light on straight questions and answers and minuted as such, thematically. It all started when BP arrived a little after six, and ended at 19.20 when MD was buried in phone calls about delaying the kick off because of the traffic chaos on the A40. 1. Future meetings JP suggested a slate of dates for future meetings, every two months, before home games. BP thought that this was quite unnecessary as he thought the new board was very open at all times. We could ask him anything and we'd get a reply at any time. He had no objections to talking to us, but he thought we didn't need loads of meetings. MD later said that he'd agree to the dates proposed and he would work with DA to try to get board members along. The dates would be 13/11/04 Wigan, 15/1/05 Stoke, 12/3/05 Watford, May at end of season, and August at start of season. 2. Finances QPR was a limited company once again. However, the two-tier structure remains. QPR Holdings Ltd and QPR AFC Ltd. BP thought that Barnaby was a more relaxed investor now it had actually come in: it had seen that how the board was trying to go was agreeable to it and was going in a direction that the group would be happy with. The details of the ownership of the partnership that is Barnaby are not known. BP stated Dunga had a substantial percentage of the10 per cent that Barnaby owns. BP reflected that he'd rather have more owners with about 15 per cent, so that they were all in the same boat. He was quite happy that Barnaby was not desperate to go for a bigger stake. The 20 per cent of shares that's up for allocation will be sorted out in a matter of days. (Ed: The club recently announced that another Monaco-based group, named Wanlock had indeed taken up the option on those shares and that would result in an injection of £1.1m which will go towards stabilising the club.) The money would be in by the end of October. BP said they were actively trying to sort out the CW shares. The principle of CW parting with them had been established, and now they were just arguing over the money. The shares would come back, but CW was looking for the same sort of deal that Ross Jones had suggested at the AGM, with some money (3.5p) going to himself and some (3p) to the club. KM was doing the talking. DA said there had been some useful time spent examining the published accounts of the CW and administration eras, and more study would surely add to what had already proved to be revealing. DA said he had been onto BDO and met the administrator Ray Hocking after disturbing matters had come to light about the administration period and its accounts. The activities during administration are being closely investigated. Hocking had recently resurfaced as being involved with ABC, the group that had loaned the club the £10m to get out administration. The club has flagged this as a conflict of interest, and has interviewed Hocking about this. Wasps were expected to return next season or to make a considerable payment in compensation. The club expected the numbers to be hundreds of thousands, even a million with the upper being approximately £1.4m. Matters were slightly complicated by the talks with CW over the shares, and the arrival of DD at Wasps. 3. The Ground The club had decided to make very preliminary investigations about developing the ground. Contrary to impressions gained from the press there was nothing firm to consider. Any meetings with the council amount merely to meetings with Reg McLaughlin and other local councilors. Officers have not yet been involved. The aim would be to add 5 - 7000 extra seats, and catering and entertainment and banqueting facilities, which would allow more revenue from greater use of the site. Matters were complicated by the CW era decision not to buy the land behind the school end, which had recently been redeveloped into housing and a new school. Any development would include substantial community benefits. Over the summer, some seats had been removed from the diabolical view area of the school end. Experience had shown that away fans with tickets for that area moved into other seat and then there¹d be a squabble with other ticket holders. Home supporters were happy to buy such seats. The club was aware of Brentford's plight. There were no formal moves about ground share. Ground relocation was not on anyone¹s radar - MD 4. Stewarding MD thought almost at end of a painful period whilst the stewarding contract has changed. Lots of conflict of interest between the regulators and the service providers. Evidence that we have been thoroughly over-stewarded for a long time. Little accountability under the old régime. People not properly accounted for. That was now being addressed. MD said it was useful to have had experience of how another club had met licensing demands. A review of the number of key points of access that needed to be stewarded suggested that there was a big saving to be made if the key points were reassessed at about a third less. Custom and practice had led to the stewarding growing relentlessly more expensive. Now bringing in additional firms to work in split contracts alongside CES, in an effort to raise competition and standards and to increase the number of firms who were familiar with the site and the club. 5. Accounts Accounts would appear before Christmas showing a loss, of about £4.25m, on the basis of what KM had said at the agm in August. Current liabilities included £1.4m PAYE and £300k VAT.6. Olly and Diaz ­ clarification MD thought the new board felt that it had not got Olly into the loop, and that there was a period of misunderstanding when Olly went on doing things his way, the way he'd been used to, and the board wanted more control. Simple really. The air had been cleared. Olly had been told to keep us in this division, but within tight budgets. MD thought supporters would understand that there had to be a period of adjustment. Diaz was not in the picture. 7. Other matters Des Bulpin was leaving the centre of excellence in a cost saving manoeuvre. Other staff including Joe Gallen and Garry Waddock would carry out his work. A member had asked about away ticket pricing, specifically Gills and Brighton. JP said that he¹d check about prices charged on the day at other parts of the ground to be sure that away support was not being charged more, and report on this to MD. The meeting ended at 19.20. Thankfully, MD managed to juggle speaking with us and making the correct decision to delay kick-off whilst supporters struggled to get to Loftus Road through the awful traffic. http://www.qpr1st.co.uk/newspages/august2004.htm


15th September
QPR1st still can't write off Wright
QPR1st has been corresponding with Chris Wright since November 2003, regarding the ownership of his shares. This followed a conversation with David Davies, then chief executive, in which he told us that one of the main reasons that the board then was struggling to achieve inward investment was that each substantial share buyer needed to buy shares from Wright and that all had so far refused on the grounds that they wanted their cash to go into Rangers and not into Wright's back pocket. Inspired by this, QPR1st's David Price wrote "On behalf of the management committee of QPR1st, I would like to offer you the chance to finally draw a line under the more painful aspects of your relationship with Queens Park Rangers Football Club. "I invite you to donate your remaining shareholding in QPR to QPR1st which, as I'm sure you're aware, is the supporters trust founded in April 2001. In making such a gesture, you would not be suffering substantial loss, certainly not relative to the losses you have already sustained through writing off debt owed by the Club to you, you would be relieving yourself of the burden of fans' anxieties over their Club's future and you would almost certainly score yourself a substantial PR coup. You would be able to show yourself to have nothing more than the Club's best interests at heart whilst at the same time standing shoulder to shoulder with one of the leading fans groups. We believe that it would secure your place in the Club's history, as one of its leading benefactors. "But there is a practical reason for the committee's invitation as well. We believe that such a gesture would open the way for inward investment into the Club, which is desperately needed. As we understand the situation, the rules governing PLCs mean that investors are loth to commit substantial sums of money because they would be forced to make you the same offer for your shares, roughly £1m at the 6.5p a share that I believe the board is seeking, meaning that a large percentage of the investment effectively becomes dead money. If you were to grant QPR1st the shares, we could put together a device that made sure that the investment went into QPR and, at the same time, QPR1st maintained its shareholding. Thus, money could come into the club which, whether or not promotion is secured this season, will be badly needed. "And it could be argued that you would lose, relatively, very little in donating your shares to us. The last major share transaction that I heard of was between the Wasps Trustees and Kevin McGrath, who I understand paid 2.5p a share. By my calculations, that would mean the donation would mean you writing off c. £300,000. Who knows, there may even be tax breaks, associated with making the donation, that could make it worth your while. "QPR1st would be more than happy to give you the credit and kudos for having made this gesture, which might make future visits to Loftus Road a lot more comfortable for you than I fear they would be at the moment. "We can put together a team to meet with you or your advisors at our/their mutual convenience, but I would like to think that we can progress this proposal quickly if it is acceptable to you." Wright's response was swift, albeit disappointing. After some pleasantries about how well Rangers were doing on the field, he said, "As far as the remnants of my shareholding is concerned, the current Board of Directors have matching rights on acquiring my shareholding from myself should I make any arrangements to sell them to a Third Party. Therefore, were I to agree to give them to QPR First they could immediately exercise their option and take the shares themselves which, of course, would defeat the whole purpose you are attempting to acheive. "In any event, I have promised to dispose of my shareholding to anyone wanting to acquire substantial sharehilding in the Club who has an ability to finance QPR going forward. Although, therefore, the shares are still registered in my name I am very much restricted on what I can do with the shares and in any event as and when they are disposed of it will only be to assist QPR going forward." It has to be said that Wright's answer was not unexpected, although his assertion that the Board had first option was a surprise, so we did not leave it long (November 30th) to have another go. This time Price wrote, "I half expected to read what you said about your options regarding the sale of your remaining shares in QPR Holdings, but I was keen to see if the idea of transferring shares to QPR1st was something that you could countenance. Reading between the lines, I surmise that you could be amenable to the idea if QPR1st could gain agreement to it from the QPR Holdings Board. "What I propose is that, with the Board's permission, you pledge or donate your shares to QPR1st. Then, if an investor comes forward, we pledge to sell those shares to him/her, as long as they pledge to sell them back to the Trust at the same price, net of tax, immediately on completing the deal. Further, the investor pledges to invest that cash into the Club, thus ensuring that all possible investment monies go into the Club. "As I said in my last letter to you, you would almost certainly score yourself a substantial PR coup through doing this and, at the same time, you would relieve yourself of what must have grown to be a very heavy burden of fans' anxiety. I fervently believe that we are offering you an elegant solution to a problem that can only grow with time. "I have not yet approached the Club's Board with this suggestion. However, with your agreement, I would like to. Furthermore, I am sure that the Board would take a proposal such as this one far more seriously were we to have your support (expressed tacitly or openly). Our committee would be very happy to set up a meeting with you and/or your advisors to take this matter further." Ten days later, the response was more abrupt, saying "It would appear to me that things are going rather well and that there is no need for major changes to be made to anything for the time being. I know the Board is looking to bring new money to the Club and, of course, I will co-operate with them in assisting for this to happen should the right opportunity arise. "In the meantime, I would suggest everything remains as is." That pretty well seemed to be that and, with the general mood at QPR becoming ever-more optimistic about prospects for the future, it looked as though the Trust's approach to Wright had failed. Nevertheless, we decided to give it one last go. This time we pressed the case about the poor state of the club's finances and how much the club needed injections of funds - later we were to find out that the club had come close to running out of cash completely early in 2003 - and we tried to convince Wright that the situation was urgent. Price's letter to Wright said, "Although the Club remains very successful on the pitch, I am sure that it has not escaped your attention that the financial situation is very poor. The board appears to be running QPR as a going concern now, but bills which built up in the period immediately following administration, particularly those owed to the tax-man, mean that the cashflow is close to drying up. I believe that some of the Club's directors have already been dipping their hands into their pockets, so the need for a new injection of cash has become very urgent. "To remind you, my proposal remains that, with the Board's permission, you pledge or donate your shares to QPR1st. Then, if an investor comes forward, we pledge to sell those shares to him/her, as long as they pledge to sell them back to the Trust at the same price, net of tax, immediately on completing the deal. Further, the investor pledges to invest that cash into the Club, thus ensuring that all possible investment monies go into the Club. "I still feel that following this strategy would give you a substantial PR coup and an elegant way of making your peace with those QPR supporters that have become hostile to you during the last five years. I know you still take a firm interest in Rangers and I gather that members of your family continue to attend games. I hope that this approach to your situation can help you find a way through to a resumption of the open support that you enjoyed until 2001." Again, Wright replied quickly, saying a week later, "Thanks for your letter of 7th January. As I believe I stated last time we were in contact I have promised Nick Blackburn and Board of QPR that my shares would be made available to any new investor that wishes to get involved with the Club. I know they are talking to one or two individuals on an on-going basis and it is my view that this is the best route forward to find another high net worth individual to come in to QPR and who finances the Club. "As you are aware, I gave QPR the bulk of my shareholding, a total of 16,066.019 (SIC) shares on the 17th May 2002 and as far as I am aware the vast majority of these shares are still available to be given to a new investor. Although your idea has merit, I very much doubt that any new investor taking shares in the Club would agree to sell them back to either the Trust or yourself at the same price that they had acquired them if they, at some later stage, relinquished control. So, frankly, I cannot, unfortunately see that it really helps the situation. "I do, however, understand that various people are attempting to raise money for the Club from similar private individuals and I am very much prepared to donate some shares to helping make this successful. I would be delighted to meet with any of your Committee should you feel it would be helpful." Wright's letter was written in January, at about the time that the Our QPR fund-raising activity was gathering momentum and conversations at around the time with LSA officials Paul Finney and other Our QPR workers indicated that Wright was already in touch with them regarding a possible donation of shares. As a result, QPR1st decided to hold off from its own correspondence with Wright, so as not to muddy the waters for Our QPR. By late June, however, it was becoming clear that Wright had not passed his shares on and that the club was still struggling to find investors. So QPR1st decided to have another go. Price wrote, "Its been a while since I last wrote to you. However, in view of the changes that are going on in the QPR board, I thought it might be appropriate to reopen our correspondence. "I am sure that, as a long-standing QPR fan, you have been concerned at the boardroom changes that are going on at the club at the moment. The loss of the old guard of David Davies, Nick Blackburn and Ross Jones brings its own uncertainties, whilst Moorbound, Gianni Paladini and those who we are told will back him are unknown, and therefore potentially perilous, quantities. "It is the potential peril that concerns me most, since we fans have no means of knowing what is going on at board level, nor of how carefully the club is being managed by the new regime. At QPR 1st, we have already been assured that the new board's stewardship of the club will be cautious and financially prudent. However, we remain concerned that we know so little of those who are now in charge. "Under such circumstances, we have the choice of either sitting to one side and awaiting developments or of trying to get involved with what is going on. I believe that our members will be keen to give the new board the benefit of the doubt and for QPR 1st to be actively supporting the settling in process. Nevertheless, our management committee would feel far more secure if we were in a position to influence what is going on at board level directly, through our shareholding. "However, our shareholding amounts to not much over 100,000 which, whilst not insubstantial, is not enough to influence the way the board thinks and where it takes its counsel. This is where you could help us since I believe that your shareholding is close to 10% of the in-trade share capital. If you were to donate your shares to QPR1st, this would make the Trust a significant shareholder and one entitled to take an active role in the running of the club. You could even donate into our ShareBank, which would oblige us to return the shares to you were you to ask for them back in the future, so you would make no loss in the unlikely event that the shares were to start trading again - I say unlikely, because I believe that the new board is looking to end the club's PLC status. "In making a gesture like donating your shares, you would be achieving a great deal of positive publicity for yourself amongst QPR fans. You could also be helping to safeguard the future of QPR. Bill Power and Kevin McGrath both have reputations for being Rangers through and through, as natives of the White City Estate. With those two, I calculate we could put together a block of fan-held shares amounting to 32%, whilst I believe that the majority of the small shareholders (35-40% of the in-trade shares) would back us as well." In reply Wright was at his briefest and most non-committal, saying, "Thank you for your letter, unfortunately I have not met Mr Paladini and can therefore make no comment on him as an individual, although I am somewhat concerned that Nick Blackburn, David Davies and Ross Jones have all resigned. "Regrettably even if you were to acquire my entire shareholding it would make not one bit of difference as to whether you could obtain a seat on the Board and even if you were to have a seat on the Board I'm not sure if you could have any influence on anything that happens. I assume you're in regular contact with Bill Power and Kevin McGrath and that would appear to be your best course of action." Anxious to keep the correspondence moving quickly, at a time when change was happening fast at Rangers, Price replied on July 10th, saying "Thank you for replying to my letter so promptly. I have followed your advice and contacted the new chair at QPR and he has given me some information about what is going on at the club (you can see the results of our efforts on www.qpr1st.co.uk) and I think that we will have a positive relationship going forward. We remain concerned, however, that not enough is known about the club's new investors and their credentials. "I appreciate what you say about how much influence we would have on the board, were you to donate your shares to the Trust, or put them into the ShareBank, but I think that you underestimate the power of the message that would be sent out were a body representing QPR fans to have such a block of shares. We would, for example, be at least the equal in ownership to Bill Power and, as a democratically-elected body, we could be a huge voice in support of Bill, who I believe is a genuine fan like yourself. I am sure that he would respond to such a development in a very positive way. "And we could be an extremely positive force in bringing the fans closer to the club in a way that hasn't happened since long before you became involved with it. If we can find a way of breaking down the mistrust that has marred communications between the club and fans since the days when the Fulham/QPR merger nearly happened, that would be a huge gain for all. "So I disagree with you that we would be toothless if we had your shareholding Chris. I believe that we would be a great force for good and one that the people who have bought into the club would have to take notice of. "In the meantime, we could present your donation in a way that earns you great plaudits in the media and amongst QPR fans, whilst asking you to risk little. Both of us could win from this arrangement, QPR1st gaining the chance to help the club in a way that has been denied it so far and you in gaining the sort of positive publicity which would aid your own connections with Rangers and enhance your working relationships with Wasps. I think that what I am proposing to you is that very rare creature, a minimal risk move from which everybody gains. Please reconsider the conclusions that you drew in your letter of July 1st, because I think we could both do well out of co-operating on this issue." Sadly, we have received no reply from Wright since that July letter and, given the speed with which he responded to the earlier contacts, the Trust has concluded that Wright has drawn a line under it. That is not to say that we have given up on his shares. Far from it, we understand and sympathise deeply with current efforts being made by fans to persuade him to part with what could be a major tradeable asset for QPR. http://www.qpr1st.co.uk/newspages/august2004.htm

QPR 1st
16th AugustNotes on QPR Holdings AGM held at Bush Hall at 3.30 pm on 4 August 2004

The meeting was chaired by Kevin McGrath who made it clear from the outset that he intended to resign as Chairman at the end of the meeting and subject to agreement, be replaced by Bill Power.
The other people on the stage were:
• Bill Power (Director and Chairman designate)
• Mark Devlin (recently appointed Chief Executive Officer)
• Dave Anderson (QPR 1 st 's previous Head of Finance and recently appointed Company Secretary)
• Chris Pennington (recently appointed full-time Financial Officer)
• Aseem Malik (recently appointed Director representing the interests of G Paladini).
Under the new regime it is assumed that the Club will make public the Minutes of the meeting and therefore this is a summary of the main points and not necessarily exhaustive.
K McG began by reminding the meeting that the new regime had only been running the plc "hands on" for the last two months. He also informed the meeting that Ross Jones and G Paladini were both in attendance, and would be willing to take questions from the floor after the formal resolutions had been dealt with.
Accounts
K McG apologised for the late delivery of the accounts and stated that this delay was unacceptable. He advised that the 2003/04 accounts would show similar losses to 2002/03, which amounted to £4.3m. It is anticipated that these accounts will be available at the end of 2004 and were currently being prepared by David Anderson with the assistance of Chris Pennington. K McG went on to state that new investment was needed of at least £2m to fund the ongoing losses and enable the club to pay its most pressing creditors i.e. Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise. It was stated that the proposed investment from Monaco was likely to be scaled down. The proposed investors were given an exclusivity period which recently ended. This meant that the club could speak again to other potential investors.
Questions followed in relation to the accounts. There was discussion about the Auditor's comments in relation to the fundamental uncertainty referred to in the accounts. This stated that additional funding needed to be raised. The board agreed that this funding is obviously necessary. The only question that caused any heated discussion during the meeting was in relation to the Related Party Transactions and the fact that the Company believed it was owed over £200,000 by Anaid Holdings Limited (i.e. The Wintons). Harold Winton was then allowed to speak and he explained the basis of the "Shittu deal" which formed the crux of the dispute. The problems arose when Ron Noades (then Brentford owner) sought to prevent QPR signing any new players via We Are QPR's expense and subsequently getting the club to pay wages. We Are QPR had then agreed to pay DS's wages until the club's exit from administration. The Club now dispute this fact, and want the ongoing wages since administration to be paid by the Wintons.
K McG stated that this dispute was likely to be resolved by discussion between the parties and there would be no more threats of going to court or arbitration and thus no legal fees incurred. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the club is not being sued or suing anybody else on an ongoing basis. Resolutions
All of the resolutions forming the ordinary business of the AGM were passed on the basis of a show of hands. There were one or two votes against each resolution but never substantial objection.
Resolutions 5 and 6 in relation to the allotment and pre-emption of shares were passed subject to an amendment i.e. the board was only given powers for a one year period, subject to renewal and ratification at the next and subsequent AGMs rather than the five year period proposed.
All of the other resolutions in relation to the company's name and Memorandum & Articles were passed.
Other questions Various other questions were asked in relation to proposed new investment. It was stated the current price being asked and paid for shares was 6.5p each. The board were asked whether or not an offer could be made to all existing shareholders asking if they wished to take up more shares at that price. RJ explained that this might have a detrimental effect on attracting a new investor, as they would want to acquire a significant proportion of the company (albeit as a minority). This would enable the investor in conjunction with others to exercise total control. RJ went on to state that he was willing to sell all or part of the 1.35m shares that he owned personally for the price of 6.5p each on the proviso that he received 3p a share and the other 3.5p per share would go to the Club.
The issue of the ABC loan was discussed in detail. This was referred to by K McG "a dog" but RJ explained that the loan was taken up at 10% as the club had no other options available and the Football League had threatened to not include QPR in the Fixture list for 2002/3 unless the club were out of Administration. A member of the floor challenged RJ, stating that a cheaper, more flexible arrangement was on offer at the time at a rate of 6% provided by a more traditional banking source. RJ stated that at the time the main banks were running shy of lending to football clubs on the basis that were they to foreclose on the deal, this would not only alienate the fans of QPR but football fans in general.
Another member of the floor stated that everybody knew the person behind the ABC loan and asked whether the top table would confirm the name of the person. They stated they were not able to do this on the basis of the confidentiality agreements surrounding the loan. K McG did however state that the previous administrators, BDO Stoy-Haywaard now acted for ABC and enquiries were made as to any potential conflicts of interest.
It was stated that Holloway had been given a budget of £500,000 over that originally envisaged and the mission was to establish QPR as a mid table Championship team challenging for a play off position. RJ stated that as a result of promotion to the Championship there will be £2m - £2.5m extra income per annum and once the club was established it could go forward and then challenge for promotion to the Premiership but this process was likely to take three to four years.
It was stated that Chris Wright had previously intended to vote against the resolutions at the AGM but the current Board had asked Nick Blackburn to liase with Wright who eventually changed his mind.
It was confirmed that G Paladini had invested £650,000 into the club and that Bill Power had recently bought some more shares to assist with ongoing cashflow.
Gino Paladini spoke about various ways he could help the club particularly the current shirt deal with Binatone, which currently nets £80,000 per annum. GP stated that he feels that a more lucrative shirt deal could easily be achieved on the basis that QPR is a very well known brand in the football world. He argued that this, coupled with the club's location in central London , represents a lucrative commercial opportunity. GP added that this line of reasoning formed initial attraction for the Monaco investors.
It was stated that it was in the club's interest to continue good relations with Chris Wright as Wasps remain contracted to return to LR the season after next. In the event of this not being upheld compensation would have to be negotiated.
It was stated that the Fulham ground-share netted the Club £330,000 which is more than Wasps would have paid but less than originally expected. The main reason for the lower profit was the increased cost of stewarding at the behest of the local authority, for which QPR were on risk.
K McG stated that he felt that the plc and Stock Exchange listings were totally inappropriate for a football club such as QPR whose function was firstly to play football and secondly to reinvest any profits to improve the playing staff and league status. He considered that QPR was a big family and as long as everybody worked together they would achieve their long- term aim. The recent changes in personnel were the start of that process and there would follow a new period of transparency with everybody pulling in the same direction.
Eventually Harold Winton was given the floor for the second time and gave a rallying speech centred on the fact that you could get 66-1 for the QPR to win the championship at Tote bookmakers.
Specific questions were asked in relation to recent stewarding, season ticket delivery and automated phone problems. These appeared to be answered specifically and honestly.
Conclusions
The meeting was carried out in an orderly manner and well chaired by Kevin McGrath. To all intents and purposes all Resolutions were passed unanimously.
People on the top table resisted the temptation to continuously "bad mouth" the old regime however, they were referred too many times in the answers to specific questions from the floor.
It must be asked ask why did QPR not contract with Fulham to pay a stadium rent plus all expenses incurred. This would have quite rightly passed the variable cost risk to Fulham.
No mention was made as to the level of income receivable from Wasps (if any) in the current year (2004/2005).
The overall impression is that David Davies resigned when he failed on numerous attempts to raise new finance for the Club. K McG stated that he was a hired hand in any case, and was likely to get another job.
Nick Blackburn resigned after a lot of pressure probably on the back of the DD situation thus making his position untenable and RJ had done the honourable thing to give the new people a chance to run the club in their own way.
http://www.qpr1st.co.uk/newspages/august2004.htm