Snippets...Briatore on Radio London?...Golden Foot Winner....Ecclestone's Formula One Financial Transformation....Takeover Flashback

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QPR Chairman, Flavio Briatore will supposedly be on Radio London this evening (7:00 pm)talking about QPR.

Ex-QPR Birthday: John Curtis turns 30 - Record -- Wikipedia/Curtis Profile


Further Takeover Comments and Assessments from one year ago today. In the words of incoming Chairman, Flavio Briatore: "Gianni, Bernie and I are all determined to see the Club return to the Premiership within the next four years" Takeover Comments


Ex-QPR Holdings' Chairman Antonio Caliendo Golden Foot Awards were held on Monday. The 2008 winner of the Golden Foot was Brazilian, Roberto Carlos. Winners -- Photos of the Golden Foot Awards - Other Golden Foot Releases


A look at how QPR Director/Investor Bernie Ecclestone Transformed the Business Side of the Racing World
- Will be interesting to see whether any of this is transferrable to the world of QPR...

The Financial Times - The Business of Sport: Formula One
Entertaining race By Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid
In the 1980s, the Formula One corporate hospitality outfit amounted to little more than giving warm beer and packets of crisps to punters. Who would have thought that just 20 years later it would be an industry with annual revenues of some $140m? Bernie Ecclestone and Paddy McNally, that’s who.
Corporate hospitality is not a frivolous extra. The teams sparingly supply sponsors with their share of passes for entry to the exclusive Paddock Club that is set up at all events. In turn, sponsors use the opportunity to indulge their own clients.
Keeping sponsors happy increases the chances that they will renew their deals. In short, corporate hospitality keeps F1’s wheels turning. In fact, in the wake of private equity firm CVC’s takeover of the sport, it is quite easy to put a value on it.
In May 2006, CVC’s UK investment vehicle Beta Prema acquired Allsport Management, the Switzerland-based operator of the Paddock Club. The deal followed CVC’s purchase of F1’s commercial rights-holder and, along with the acquisition of the trackside advertising business, it brought all the sport’s revenue generators under one roof for the first time, so the teams could take a 50 per cent share in their profits. The financial results of Beta Holdings, Beta Prema’s UK-based parent, reveal just how much they get.
The accounts show that from the start of 2006 and CVC’s acquisition on May 31, Allsport had a turnover of $52m. The revenues for the remainder of the year can be taken to be about $91m, since this is the turnover of Beta Holdings whose key business is Allsport. That put the total revenue from the Paddock Club in 2006 at some $143m.
It is down to some expensive tickets. The average price for a three-day Paddock Club pass this year is $4,176 and it is believed some 2,000 guests are wined and dined at each of the 18 races peaking at Monaco, Monza and Silverstone.
Allsport directly handles the corporate hospitality at 15 of the races. Australia, Brazil and Singapore, however, take it inhouse and are believed to pay a fee to Allsport for doing so. The revenue from 15 races translates into $125m, with a fee from the other three bringing it up to $143m.
The profit, however, is a different story. According to Beta Holdings’ accounts, Allsport made an after-tax profit of just $1.2m in 2005 and there is good reason for this. Its biggest overhead is thought to be a fee to F1’s commercial rights-holder, amounting to approximately 40 per cent of turnover, but it also has hefty running costs. The organisers transport 40,000 glasses, 30,000 plates, 10,000 cut flowers, 5,500 magnums of champagne, and 200 tonnes of tent material to each race. It is a far cry from the early days.
The Paddock Club concept was created in 1984 by entrepreneur McNally, previously a trackside advertising salesman. He was led by Ecclestone’s vision for the future of F1, which involved big-spending companies that would sponsor the sport because of its extraordinary exposure. McNally set up Allsport to run the Paddock Club and Ecclestone granted it exclusive rights to hospitality at the F1 circuits.
But it wasn’t until the 1990s that the Paddock Club concept took off as F1’s popularity accelerated. “The Paddock Club is an extraordinarily effective business tool to set against the dramatic backdrop of the world’s most thrilling spectator sport,” says Isabelle Kaufmann, the venue’s manager.
With such great importance attached to the Paddock Club, preserving its exclusivity is essential. “The world’s finest racing must be served by the highest standards of corporate hospitality,” she says.
Tents are adorned with fresh flowers and even the lawns on which the marquees are built must make the grade. Fresh turf is often flown in from England and rolled out on-site.
The Paddock Club is split into three areas and all have levels of luxury akin to a five-star hotel. The Village is a group of marquees surrounding an open garden, each with a patio seating area and buffet tent. Separate marquees house the champagne bar and entertainments in the garden area.
For a unique chance to support the drivers, the Pit Building Lounges are the place to be. They are a collection of individual lounges above the pits with a privileged view of the main start/finish straight and the pit lane. The Pit Building Terrace is a collection of suites covered by a purpose-built marquee. They are above the pits, often one storey higher than the Pit Building Lounges and afford panoramic views of the race.
With billionaires being almost as common as fuel in F1, the Paddock Club plays host to some who require even more intimacy for their business dealings. Suites in the three areas hold the most swish and private Paddock Club parties.
Guests of the Paddock Club are offered far more than motor racing. Every Paddock Club pass includes access to an open bar with champagne and a gourmet banquet with fine wines. There are boutiques run by TAG Heuer and men’s fashion brand Hackett, as well as a masseur, beautician and hairdresser. A caricaturist and a card-trick artist are also on hand to provide entertainment.
The entertainment creates a relaxed but business-like atmosphere, making it even easier for sponsors to schmooze their customers and network with their F1 counterparts.
The top sponsors are believed to have annual F1 hospitality budgets of up to $20m, but some get into F1 just for the entertainment opportunities. For example, according to industry analyst Formula Money, media company Reuters pays the Williams team $4m for small logos on the side of the car and the drivers’ sleeves, but hospitality is one of the key purposes of its sponsorship.
Reuters aims to make its hospitality programme feel exclusive and intimate, so it invites only between 10 and 20 key senior executives from client companies to each race. The small numbers maximise the opportunity for communication and although the weekend is centred around the race, Reuters makes sure guests don’t feel obliged to attend.
Clients are invited to bring spouses or partners and the company makes the most of the local environment wherever possible, with optional excursions to areas of local cultural interest or spas.
However, the Paddock Club remains the key constant, with an almost identical set-up no matter where it is. “There are hundreds of people involved at each race – chefs, catering staff, electricians, security agents, maintenance staff, drivers, entertainers, florists, therapists and cleaners,” says Kaufmann.
However, only 10 per cent are local workers. Security, logistics, construction and catering tend to be handled by the same contractors throughout the season.
“The level of service and hospitality provided in the Paddock Club is exceptional as well as reliable. You know what to expect wherever the race is taking place and there are no surprises,” says one sponsorship manager.
Getting it right at one race is tough enough, but the Paddock Club travels to 17 countries over eight months, sometimes in different countries on consecutive weekends. So, once the dust has settled at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, the structure will be off to Italy for the race there next week. Two weeks later it will be in Singapore. The Financial Times


Spreading QPR Through the Gulf - Gulf Weekly Prize!
Gulf Weekly - COME JOIN US! THREE lucky soccer-loving GulfWeekly readers have the chance to win a FREE fabulous trip to London to watch Gulf Air-sponsored Queens Park Rangers play a crucial fixture in the club's bid to win promotion to the Premier League. All YOU have to do is predict the score of QPR's forthcoming game against Southampton on Sunday, September 14, which will be broadcast live at 6pm Bahrain time on Showtime's Show Sports 2 channel.
To celebrate this important Championship fixture Gulf Air is offering three GulfWeekly readers the chance to win a trip to London to watch the QPR v Burnley game on November 15 in the Gulf Air VIP box at Loftus Road.
Each lucky winner will be flown to the UK and provided with hotel accommodation and a special VIP pass that will allow them entry to the Gulf Air box where they can soak up the atmosphere and enjoy all the excitement of the game in executive comfort.
To have a chance of winning all you need to do is correctly guess the score of the earlier QPR v Southampton TV special. You can make as many predictions as you wish.
Everyone who predicts the score correctly will be entered into a draw and the first three names out of the hat will win the prizes.
Simply send an email to score@gulfweekly.com with your prediction in the subject line and make sure it follows the following example with 'X' being your prediction: QPR X Southampton X.
Please also give us your full name, age and mobile phone number.
Deadline for submitting your entry is 9am on Sunday, September 14.
Good luck with the competition and don't forget to tune in to Show Sports 2 on the 14th to help roar QPR towards another memorable victory. Who knows, you may win the opportunity to see them in person!
The competition is not open to full time Gulf Air or GulfWeekly employees.
Tickets are non-transferrable and are for the match against Burnley on November 15 only.
Any winner requiring a visa for entry to the UK will have to secure it themselves.
Entries not adhering to the above terms and conditions will be discounted. The Editor's decision is final.
GulfWeekly will accompany the lucky readers to London and record their special sporting adventure with the kingdom's number one airline in our pages. Gulf Weekly