Andrew Ellis was hardly a name that popped into anyone’s mind when Sir David Murray announced to the stock market his intention to sell his stake Rangers at the beginning of the season. Murray’s intention to sell had been no secret over the previous years, but with the chairman relinquishing his role at the club to focus on his Murray International empire, supporters soon demanded answers as to why he chose to step down and leave the club in the hands of Alistair Johnston.
With Murray officially putting the for sale sign on the front door of the stadium, fans were soon quick to let it be known that they wanted a bigger say in the running of the club. Various proposals from a number of outlets were forwarded, meetings were held and fan ownership was touted as a viable option for the club to move forward. The supporters made it clear that the club should no longer be operated in the same manner as before – with Murray at the helm, the stereotypical multi-millionaire sugar daddy football club owner, his final say in everything meant it was his way or the highway. Previous pressure from a number of supporters groups led to the chairman offering the fans more involvement in what happens at the club, however this was and still is a token gesture towards the support and little else, the chairman always had the final say regardless of fans or shareholders input.
Fan ownership wasn’t the only rumour – a vast number of prospective owners, consortiums and the like have been published in the press and on the multitude of Rangers fan sites, and consequently discussed to death, each and every one being ruled out and refused, or outright ignored by those mentioned. The past week however saw a rather unlikely man in the news headlines as the spearhead of a Guernsey based consortium – property developer Andrew Ellis.
Ellis has had a rather patchy and controversial history with football clubs, to say the least. Andrew, son of Queens Park Rangers ex-chairman Peter Ellis, attempted to take over the London club in 2001. The proposals were met with dismay from QPR fans, his intentions of moving the club from their Loftus Road home to a new site close to Luton airport were met with protest from the support. His unpopular plan would have given Ellis the opportunity to redevelop the land vacated by QPR and introduce a Chelsea-style stadium with hotel, casino and other developments, netting himself a rather tidy profit while following in his father’s footsteps in running the club.
Soon after he pulled out of the QPR takeover and focused on Northampton Town, saving them from administration and though popular at the time, his tenure as chairman lasted only two months, leaving the club in the hands of the Cordoza family, the major financial backers of the takeover.
This raises some question as to why he would wish to take over at a club such as Rangers; when he left the Northampton role he was quoted as saying:
“Being at the helm of a football club is a 24/7 commitment which requires 110 per cent effort,”
“Unfortunately, due to previous unfinished business ventures, I have found myself in a situation where I can no longer devote the necessary time and energy to justify the title of chairman of Northampton Town Football Club. While I am sad and disappointed, I can wholeheartedly assure everyone I am standing down for the best interests of the club.”
If Ellis could not stay in the role as chairman at a lower league club such as Northampton for longer than two months, how would he cope in the limelight as chairman at Ibrox? With no disrespect intended to Northampton, the two clubs are worlds apart in terms of stature, the pressures to succeed are undoubtedly greater and the goldfish bowl that is the Old Firm in Glasgow is no place for a chairman without an iron will to succeed.
Which leads me to question why Ellis would be interested in running Rangers Football Club. Being a man who has been associated with football all his life, no doubt catching the bug at an early stage with his father running the club he grew up supporting, it is clearly in his blood. It is possible he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and run a successful, well supported club. What niggles me about Ellis however, is his main business interests – property development.
Could property development be a bigger motivation for Ellis than simply running a team called Rangers who play in blue and white? Various sources have already mooted the idea that Murray Park could be razed and relocated to allow the land it currently resides in Milngavie for redevelopment, possibly an answer to Rangers FC’s large debts. However demolishing Murray Park then relocating elsewhere seems to me an unlikely situation given the cost involved in such a plan.
Cast your mind back two years. David Murray announced that there was discussion with Glasgow City Council with a view to purchasing the land in the Hinshelwood area directly in front of the stadium and adjacent to the car park next to it. The council agreed in principle to sell land to Rangers to redevelop, not entirely different but alternative proposal to the failed bid for the first license for a Vegas-style “super casino” in the United Kingdom. The new plans would have seen the area in front and around the stadium redeveloped into hotels, a smaller casino, luxury flats and various other retail and leisure developments. This £350million development would have also seen some sort of redevelopment of the stadium, with a number of options at the time being looked at by David Murray and Martin Bain.
The area in front of the stadium has since been demolished, with the exception of the high-rise flats which now lay dormant and are also due to be demolished in the near future. The amount of vacant land in front of and around the stadium would allow for a huge regeneration programme immediately next to the M8 motorway offering transport links to Glasgow Airport and beyond, a possible new railway station and of course the local subway station and main bus corridor between Glasgow and Paisley, Paisley Road West.
Would this be what Ellis is interested in rather than the club itself? The opportunity to make money from the largest inner city development since Glasgow Harbour, on prime land on the south side of Glasgow?
The land lies empty at the moment, the proposals shelved long ago due to the economic downturn. The merger of TSB and Lloyds, who were subsequently rescued with taxpayer’s money, decided Rangers had to tighten its belt, live within its means and reduce the reliance on the bank’s facility to run the club.
To date, no plans have been forwarded for Hinshelwood and the land remains empty. With the economy starting to recover from the recession, perhaps Ellis and his financial backers is looking to the long term with designs on redeveloping Hinshelwood as a way of making money from a club who, in the SPL earn little, if anything. With little or no television revenue and future chances of Champions League qualification looking slimmer than ever, what else would the consortium be persuaded to buy Rangers for?
Glasgow City Council and the GHA would no doubt be open to discussions on the future of the area, especially with the Commonwealth games coming to the city, which will see the east end of Glasgow go through massive regeneration. Ibrox itself will host the Rugby 7s, and the land won’t stay vacant until 2014. All other venues have been decided, new venues are being built and none in Hinshelwood.
I am merely speculating on the matter, but why else would a consortium led by a property developer want to take over a club with substantial debts and little opportunity to make profit? It isn’t hard to see why investors from around the globe are queing up to take over clubs in England with the massive television revenues and sources of income available to them. It is difficult to see how he could persuade others to take over a club in the SPL.
So does Ellis see Hinshelwood as the main reason for taking over Rangers? Who knows, but at this moment in time, I don’t see many other reasons why he, or his financial backers, would want to, and given the nature of his business interests, i’d say that this would be his most likely motivation, if plans to redevelop the land were agreed again with Glasgow City Council.
Most sensible appraisal that I have seen so far. My research indicates that he doesn’t seem to have any mega wealth, which is a concern, unless he is a front for others.
Of course it could be a re-incarnation of the previous ‘deal in a nice London hotel’ that never happened for whatever reason.
I was thinking along exactly the same lines when I heard of the Ellis cosortium interest.He is a property developer first and foremost.The consortium he fronts will be looking for a return on their investment within a fairly quick timeframe ..that will definitely not come from the football end of the business. It could be that their group has access to other potential financial backing/partnership arrangements for the land redevelopment in Hinshelwood…and I would not entirely rule out Milngavie either at this stage.
thats exactly what i was saying last night…i dont think David Murray will sell all his shares… he is looking for fresh investment…i think that if Andrew Ellis buys into Rangers then we will see the area around the ground being redeveloped..
Thanks for your comments guys. It immediately struck me that this could be a selling point for Ellis to his investors and i’m surprised the press didn’t start speculation on it either.
I wouldn’t rule out Milngavie either – or anything else for that matter, obviously there will be some major changes if or when someone takes over the club.
I am just speculating of course, but who knows?
Posting link for topic in forum in case anyone wishes to join in the discussion there.
TheQueensXI
Discuss this in forum here:
http://dothebouncy.com/smf/index.php?topic=23238.0
Ive read the article and comments with interest.
I do understand the train of thought but am also struggling to figure why a London-based consortium would prefer to buy land for property development in Glasgow rather than the more expensive South-East of UK, where they’d make double money per square metre.
On top of that, Im not sure how ‘Las Vegas type’ development with hotels etc would actually make profit in that part of the City. There are a few Champagne Charlies in Glasgow but would they venture over to Ibrox for a night out?
My overall take is that this consortium are looking for a new challenge at a bargain deal and are trying their arm. I’ll be very surprised if it goes through… mark my words
I think you misunderstand cmf001 – the initial plans were for the super casino development when Rangers were bidding for it – and Manchester won it.
After the “super casino” bid, the plans were altered so the land could be developed, potentially earning the club and chairman money.
They were shelved in the end. But the land is expansive and in a prime position which could spur regeneration nearby.
Firstly, the above article cites LUTON AIRPORT as the proposed “new home” of QPR had Ellis been succesful in his bid. This is wrong – it was Heathrow airport that was proposed.
Now, whilst you “bears” are being familiarised with this guy’s name, please note that (in my opinion, anyway) Ellis is only a “front-man” for the consortium. The real money-man will probably be revealed as one Mr Lakshmi Mittal, a steel magnate who was on the QPR board at the same time as Robert Ellis (Andrew’s dad). Since David Murray and indeed, MIH are in hawk to the banks, it is likely that Mittal is financing this bid merely as a “sweetener” in acquiring MIH from SDM. RFC is merely the “free toy in the kiddy’s comic”, and within 5 years, RFC will be offloaded to the highest bidder, thus it will seem like “Grounhog Day” all over again. Murray’s businesses are well worth acquiring, possibly on the cheap, given that Sir Minty owes a fortune through MIH, and will be happy to relieve himself of that financial burden for a small profit plus undoubtedly a seat on the board of Mittal Holdings. The figure of £33 million being quoted is “chump-change” to Mittal, since he is a billionaire. I might be wrong in my assessment, but I think over the coming days and weeks, I will be proven correct (of sorts) in my assessment.
Guys – this is all “smoke and mirrors”.. It’s got little or nothing to do with Hinshelwood, but I think a lot to do with acquiring MIH by the guy who I think is actually financing this deal – one LAKSHMI MITTAL!! Look him up on Wikipaedia, and FORBES.COM. Whilst it is nice that RFC may be target for a billionaire, looking for a “toy” to spend his wealth on, if this guy is in the dealings here then it is MOST DEFINITELY A BAAAAAAAAD MOVE!! This may come across to you all as the rantings of a madman (well, for my sins, I support celtic.. LOL!!), but I now live in London, well away from all that sectarian garbage, and I like to think I now see the “bigger picture” with regards to Scottish Football. I wish RFC well in getting their financial problems sorted out, but this is most definitely not your salvation!! Trust me on it!!
Just to back up the above assertions I’ve made, please feel free to read the contents of thie following weblink, and decide for yourself whether I have a basis for my assertion:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5142202.stm
The link is a profile on Lakshmi Mittal.
Good points Steven. We cant know for certain who will be the backers of the deal, but it is widely believed now that the backers are funding it because of the proposed developments at Hinshelwood.
I stand corrected on the Luton comments, i took that from a source elsewhere, and glad you cleared that up.
Prior to this article, there wasn’t a single story anywhere about Hinshelwood or property development being part of the deal.
Two days later, it was in many papers that the council confirmed that the club had been in discussions regarding the land. Im surprised they hadnt thought of it first.
So at least I got something right!