QPR's future close to being resolved

Last updated : 07 April 2002 By

Board members Ross Jones, Nick Blackburn and David Davies have made an offer to owner Chris Wright in an attempt to acquire QPR and parent company Loftus Road plc. Under the terms of the deal, QPR will remain at Loftus Road

Asked why this couldn't have been done earlier, Davies explained that the opportunity came forward out of the blue and with significant pressure from the Football League and other creditors, action needed to be taken.

"We have been working towards this for the last two weeks" Davies said. "I respect anyone's right to voice their opinion and if people want to vent their frustration at Chris Wright's treatment of Maurice Fitzgerald and Harold Winton I understand that. However, in going forward the emphasis needs to change to one of coming together in a much more positive way.

"We have developed a five year business plan which sees the focus of the club concentrating and re-establishing our community links in West London. We seek to be inclusive and transparent as a board, encouraging local businesses to join with us in restoring pride to this club".

It is expected that one of those parties will include Harold Winton and Maurice Fitzgerald.

Winton however has his concerns about the MBO: "It's a major development and to be honest, we are going to have to sit down and consider what this means. What I can say is that we are certainly still interested in running We Are QPR plc as a way of generating money for the club."

Davies denied their bid for the club is a publicity stunt ahead of the planned protests for Saturday's match against Peterborough at Loftus Road. "We will be transparent about this. We will be as open as we can and our aim in general is to be a more inclusive club."

JR Ivan of the Melzack consortium blames Davies that they were not able to finalise a takeover, but Davies insists the decision did not lie with him.

"He's upset at the moment and that's understandable," Davies admitted. "But he signed a confidentiality agreement in February last year so he has had over 12 months. He tried his best to bring the deal to a conclusion and he would have to say that no effort was spared to assist and to make information available.

"You can try to bring people to the table but ultimately any decision rests with Chris Wright and the administrator and they make decisions about exclusivity. After 12 months we were in a position where we could not afford to put all our eggs in one basket."