QPR launch bond to fund new training ground

Queens Park Rangers have launched a bond in an attempt to partially crowdfund their plans for a new £20 million training ground.

QPR this week received planning permission for a new training base at Heston Sports Ground in Hounslow. It is hoped that the state-of-the-art complex will open during the 2022/23 season.

A QPR bond will finance part of the project with Tifosy Capital and Advisory. The financing model is similar to that used by Norwich City when they revamped their academy in 2018.

The bond will pay five per cent gross interest annually, with an additional three per cent gross in club credit. Investors will meanwhile be paid a one-off 25 per cent bonus if Mark Warburton’s side win promotion to the Premier League during the lifetime of the five-year bond. There is a minimum subscription of £500 and no upper limit.

In a statement, QPR chairman Amit Bhatia said: “As a board, we have a clear vision for QPR: to deliver competitive and entertaining football while ensuring the club becomes self-sustainable.

“The new training ground is designed to underpin a renewal of the footballing fundamentals at QPR, to enable the club to compete more effectively on the pitch and to help attract and develop the best talent.

“Once developed, it will offer cutting-edge facilities for QPR players of all levels – a key aim of this project is to accelerate the development of young talent.

“Supporter involvement and participation have always been at the core of QPR’s values.

“As a board, we are fully behind this offer and believe that the QPR bond can play a crucial role in further strengthening the connection between QPR and its passionate fans, and in bringing new investors and fans to the club.”

Norwich launched a five-year bond through a platform run by former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli in 2018.

Norwich joined forces with Tifosy to ask supporters to collectively invest up to £5 million in the club’s plans for new buildings and facilities at its Colney Training Centre.

The Canaries bond sold out before it could be made publicly available, with the club’s subsequent promotion to the Premier League triggering a 25 per cent bonus for each investor, as well as an option for the club to repay the bond back.

As well as the promotion bonus, investors received their annual 5pc interest and 3pc credit to spend at the club, as well as their principal investment, on the first anniversary of the bond.

Burnley are another club to launch a similar project.

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