The Tigers business model

[Offside]

This is being discussed as a side line in several threads but I think it warrants one on its own as it is not just down to the CEO, DoR or even the board totally.

A fan owned PLC with no Sugar Daddy seems to be the holy grail of business models for fans, if the income is sufficient to allow financing of a competitive team.

I am a Tigers fan because I was born in Leicester and do not want to feel pushed out by a Sugar Daddy taking over who did not know where Leicester was before their acquisitions team present their proposal.

However, the new pitch (people seems to have forgotten the cost of that), Granby Halls site purchase, and some bad luck with injuries to senior players including both marquee is causing problems with both cash flow and performance then are we happy to see this business model change?

Would fans buy further shares to allow investment in the hotel and a training facility? Have the board looked into this rather than getting into a financial commitment to an individual who, so far at least, has remained a great supporter only.

The catering thread suggest income is not being maximised in this area. I stand on the Crumbie Terrace with a teenage son in tow and find it much easier to spend my money at other grounds. If the club gets fixed income from franchising out the business then it still needs to maximise the return so it is in a better position to negotiate a higher fee in future contracts. If we cannot maximise income now then will the new facilities be run efficiently or contract income be maximised?

With the disappointment on the pitch some of these issues have started to surface on threads. Do we need to be patient and wait for the cash flow from the new investments and make sure we encourage the club to maximise income they currently could get and be careful what we wish for regarding injections of cash from other business models. We have Richmond and Newcastle in the rear view mirror and possible Wasps and Saracens in the head lights. Surely eventually debts may get too big and need to be reduced on the balance sheet or settled by backers before the club is passed on to new investors?

We have a much bigger fan base than other clubs, Do we maximise this? Would I mind some adverts on the bottom of this forum if the money provided another player or even conditioning coach?

I do not know enough about the club finances and people involved to say much more but would appreciate other peoples thoughts. On consideration, I think I would prefer to support my club than have it become someone elses on the promise of jam now/tomorrow.

[Tom Tom]

What a sensible & realistic post.
I vote you onto the 'Board'
Shame no one at the club is reading this forum, they are not interested anyway, just look at the Catering thread and how long we have been complaining about the lack of service!
(Since the Next/Cat stand was opened, FYI)

[h's dad]

What a sensible & realistic post.
I vote you onto the 'Board'
Shame no one at the club is reading this forum, they are not interested anyway, just look at the Catering thread and how long we have been complaining about the lack of service!
(Since the Next/Cat stand was opened, FYI)

Well written anyway.

Offside, how about putting some flesh on the bones? How many fans would need to invest how much each without realistic expectation of a return to make a dent in the current Tigers debt (of around £13 million?) bearing in mind the complaints of many about what they currently spend on Tigers, and these complaints are from some of those you might consider among the most passionate?

I'm a great believer in looking after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves but you have to absolutely minimise the time spent on each penny.

I don't know about but but I do have adverts at the bottom of my screen from organisations that put money into the club and if you click on the arrow it becomes a scrolling bar showing a whole lot more.

I don't disagree with Offside's premise and his contribution is welcome, but on the Board? You'll be proposing me as a referee next

[fleabane]

An interesting thread.

We already have one very significant shareholder who seems happy not to interfere with the running of the club. ( im sure someone else will fill in the details my wandering mind has forgotten).

The Wasps, Sarries, etc., model is not sustainable from a financial point of view, being at risk of a sugar-daddy walking (or passing) away. The Newcastle/ Sir John Hall model does not work.

The question is whether the Tigers model works on the pitch. Remodelled ground, pitch, hotel in the offing, maybe all at the expense of a coach or two, new training facilities and being able to meet the cap and injury dispensation allowances?

I accept Ozs criticisms that the club has not maximised its brand potential, a real opportunity to expand the revenue base. It virtually ignores the opportunities presented by social media and cannot even make up its mind about the forum and how it should be run and regulated!

With due respect to what has been achieved in the past, it is time for new blood, bringing new, imaginative ideas, not half thought through pet projects with limited appeal.

A concentration on the core business, a successful and high achieving rugby union club, maximising financial opportunities to fully support on field activities, is what is needed.

[Tom Tom]

An interesting thread.

We already have one very significant shareholder who seems happy not to interfere with the running of the club. ( im sure someone else will fill in the details my wandering mind has forgotten)

With due respect to what has been achieved in the past, it is time for new blood, bringing new, imaginative ideas, not half thought through pet projects with limited

AFAIK I think the shareholder you refer to is Tom Scott who I think is Jersey based as is Peter Tom.
Tom Scott is probably the youngest on the board, his fathers family were originally East Midlands based.
The money initially came from crane hire after the 2nd war apparently. His grandfather bought an ex army crane and hired himself out.
That's what I've been told anyway.

[fleabane]

Thanks Tom Tom, he's who I was thinking of.

[h's dad]

Thanks Tom Tom, he's who I was thinking of.

fleabane for the Board with Tom Tom as an adviser.

[Downsouth]

Excellent post. I cannot think of any examples in rugby or football where the presence of a sugar daddy has not ended badly. The Wasps model seems to be even more high risk. I would take a season or two of spending below the cap if it meant a better long term future. There are some excellent business brains at the club and if anyone has ideas to generate more revenue, let them know. I do think some sort of solvency requirement is needed as whilst we may snigger for a short while if Wasps, Bath or Sarries go bust, it wouldn't be good for English rugby.

[Old Hob]

The shop has to improve too.

[h's dad]

...I would take a season or two of spending below the cap if it meant a better long term future. ...

Even if it meant being a bottom half club and flirting with relegation? Which some somehow seem to think we're not far from anyway.

[Old Hob]

...I would take a season or two of spending below the cap if it meant a better long term future. ...

/quote]

Many of the posters here seem to think the same BUT at the same time insist on being top four, in Europe etc etc.

"Even if it meant being a bottom half club and flirting with relegation? Which some somehow seem to think we're not far from anyway."

In Tigers' lore "There are no transitional seasons"

Square the circle.

[Noddy555]

Yes Ideally maybe all sports clubs should be run this way, however this type of Sports club in these days is an anachronism. Sport is now a business and a huge business at that, look at the Mafia in italy or cosa nostra in the U.S, They have tried and sometimes succeeded in infiltrating themselves into Sports clubs because they recognised at that time that these businesses were cash rich. No! Sports clubs today must model themselves on big business because in the main that's what they are. The most successful clubs in terms of winning honours by which they can attract advertising which is together with sponsorship is the oil which greases the wheels. If Tigers can achieve whilst operating in the old fashioned way, all well and good, however there are already signs of cracks in the structure. It is now more than 3 years since any kind of success and even the most well meaning of sponsors should be asking the question am I putting my advertising and sponsorship money in the right place. I'm not against Sugar daddies as such, just the wrong type of Sugar daddy who wants to make a quick buck and then leave after a couple of years.

[Noggs]

Leicester Tigers is a 'big business' with a £20m+ turnover. It has grown organically due to astute management and the plans for future growth are exciting.

If my understanding is correct the planned multi-storey car park has been put on hold in order to develop the hotel opportunity adjacent to the main stand. Assuming they find (or have already found) the right branded hotel development partners I suspect they are looking at some sort of deal whereby the hotel is able to utilise Tigers extensive functions facilities and Tigers are able to use the hotel accommodation to grow and extend it's conferencing offer. It may in the end be some sort of joint venture or even a case of Tigers owning the bricks and mortar and franchising the running of the hotel.

I suspect within the next 10 years we will have both hotel and car park and possibly also have redeveloped the South stand. The Board are doing a good job and we should let them get on with it.

[fleabane]

Boggs, neither the car park nor the hotel and their construction are core activities of the club. They may become fixed assets, and able to be borrowed against, but unless the club invests in all of its core (rugby) activities, it will be a mid to low level Premiership club.

I understand very well that the club needs a more regular cash flow, but remain unconvinced that expanding its interests outside rugby is the correct way of going about it.

[johnthegriff]

The hotel and car park etc are part of the core business of rhe club as they are essential to maximising revenue from the conference facilities. Tigers are a rugby team, the players need to be paid and it is necessary that we maximise revenue in order to spend up to the salary cap. Since the game went professional Leicester Football Club have purchased their own ground, entered into a long lease securing their training ground instead of Mandela Park and built a one million pound gymnasium and medical facility adjacent to it. They have also built two large modern stands and purchased the land currently used as the Crumbie car park. The sugar daddy idea liked by so many posters does not take into account that these people tend to move in cheaply on teams with no real assets to take over Tigers would mean real initial investment.
Yes it is three years since we won a major trophy, it is even longer since Wasps or Bath won one. Injuries are in part responsible, there may well be other reasons but I am certain that it is not lack of effort on behalf of the players or coaches. Changes made to the Academy structure a couple of years ago may be starting to bear fruit time will tell, I do feel that the supply line from that source has been lacking in recent years but the green shoots are showing and in a couple of seasons we may have a team half full of young home produced players.