Richard Thompson (businessman)

Richard Charles Thompson (born 31 July 1964) is a British entrepreneur. He entered the business world via his father David in his early twenties. He gained significant early experience in the plc world, notably as the youngest Premiership Chairman of Queens Park Rangers F.C. at age 24. Thompson has been involved in businesses spanning sport, retail, fashion, property and brands.

Early life

Thompson was educated at Haileybury until 1982. He thereafter went to work for his father David, who was the majority shareholder of Hillsdown Holdings. In May 1982, David Thompson had acquired businesses from the Imperial Food group, including his old family business, Eastwood Thompson Ltd.

Career

Thompson started working for Eastwood Thompson Ltd in 1982. This company was the Thompsons' family business, the result of a 1969 merger between B Thompson Ltd and JB Eastwood Ltd. B Thompson Ltd was founded in 1952 by his grandfather Bernard Thompson and become publicly traded in 1966.

After a couple of years working in the business, Thompson went to work for Rugby Securities, a property investment company, for one year. In February 1985, David Thompson floated Hillsdown Holdings on the stock market, and Hillsdown soon became a renowned company for the number of acquisitions it made in 1985 and 1986.^[1]

F. Copson

In November 1986, at the age of 22, Thompson took control of his first public company, F. Copson, a builders merchant based in Birmingham. He then acquired LCP from Ward White plc in May 1987 for 2 million pounds. He eventually sold his interest in Copson plc in March 1989 to the Ugandan Chatwani brothers.

In May 1987, David Thompson stepped down from Hillsdown Holdings, selling 50% of his shares, becoming a non-executive director of the firm. In April 1989, he sold the remainder of his shares.^[2]

Hobson plc and Union Square plc

In 1990, Thompson became chairman of two public companies, Hobson plc and Union Square plc. The biggest shareholder in both companies was his father. Thompson oversaw the restructuring for both companies as they had got themselves into problems in the early 1990s recession. Having cleaned Hobson into a cash shell, he then acquired a company called Cadismark Ltd in December 1992. Cadismark was a company controlled by Andrew Regan, who then used the vehicle to buy FMG, a food supplier to The Co-operative Group, in April 1994.^[3] Thompson stepped down in December 1993.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club

In September 1988, Thompson became the youngest chairman of Queens Park Rangers F.C. (QPR). He was also chairman of the club when it became a founding member of the Premier League in 1992.^[4] QPR had been a 100% subsidiary of Marler Estates, of which his father had a 28% stake. It was Thompson's idea to inject Marler Estates into a cash shell called Conrad plc, in which his father also had a stake, which then created Cabra Estates, run by John Duggan.^[5] Simultaneously to this, Thompson Investments purchased 100% of QPR. Thompson was chairman between 1988 and 1996. He was voted the most unpopular man in football in 1994.^[6] He worked with managers such as Jim Smith, Trevor Francis, Don Howe, Gerry Francis and Ray Wilkins. In July 1996, the club was sold to Chris Wright, co-founder of Chrysalis Records.

Windsor Racecourse

In August 1987, his father acquired a majority interest in Windsor Racecourse, and Thompson became chairman from August 1987 until its sale to Arena Leisure plc in 1999.^[7]

Planal SA

In 1989, Thompson's father became involved in the financing of the acquisition of Planal SA (the company behind Quinta do Lago estate). In January 1990, Thompson's father assumed complete control, and Richard became Deputy Chairman until the sale in 1998 to Denis O'Brien of Esat Telecoms. During that period, Thompson was also involved in the acquisition of the Vilar de Golf from Trafalgar house in 1992 and the acquisition of Pinheiros Altos in 1991.

Muirpace Holdings

In early 1987, his father acquired a majority stake in a commodity broker called Muirpace Holdings, a company run by Allan Leonard. Thompson stepped down in 1995, but in 1997, it became clear that Allan Leonard had been involved in a complex fraud, which cost the shareholders and clients close to 30 million pounds.^[8] Leonard was sentenced to seven years in prison. The company was liquidated in 1998.^[9]

Storm plc

In 1994, Thompson bought into Storm plc and reversed in some private interests in early 1995. Soon after that, Chris Akers joined the board and the company was renamed Caspian plc.^[10] Through Thompson's contacts in football, Leeds United A.F.C. was identified as a good takeover opportunity, and the acquisition was completed in August 1996. The company was renamed from Caspian to Leeds Sporting plc.^[10] After the sacking of Howard Wilkinson, Thompson was instrumental in taking George Graham, previously the Arsenal F.C. manager, to Leeds as manager. George stayed at Leeds for two years until he became Tottenham Hotspur manager in mid-1998.^[11] Thompson sold his shares and resigned as a director at the end of March 1999.

Other plc involvement during the mid to late 1990s included the acquisition and disposal of a major stake in Ferrum plc and also the acquisition of majority stake in Westport plc, which was the vehicle for the reverse takeover of Sportsworld in late 1997. Thompson also bought a major stake in Whitchurch plc and then sold some private interests simultaneously. Whitchurch consisted of some catering butchers and a pet food manufacturer in Suffolk. Thompson sold the meat assets to Prosper de Mulder and then acquired some film production companies and a lottery franchise called the Film Consortium from Virgin and renamed the company Civilian Content plc.

Brand companies

In 1998, Thompson backed the Elizabeth Emanuel brand. He also acquired a majority interest in Macintosh ltd in 2000, which was the original manufacturer of cotton rubberised coats. This company was sold to a Japanese group called Yagi in 2007. In 2000, he also acquired Chester Barrie ltd from Austin Reed for £4 million. He sold the business in 2002 to a group of local businessmen and kept the property, which was then redeveloped and sold to B&Q.

Other brands that Thompson backed during that phase were Patrick Cox (shoe and leather goods), Miller Harris (fragrances,) Frost French (fashion) and Elemental Herbology (skin care).

Jaeger and Viyella

In 2003, Thompson acquired two fashion retail businesses called Jaeger and Viyella from Coats PLC, paying £1 for both.^[12] The company was generating revenue of over £100 million a year but losing £1.5 million a month. It had 300 shops and concessions. Within seven weeks he sold both businesses, Jaeger to Harold Tillman and Viyella to a Birmingham-based business called Harris Watson.

Current projects

Since 2003, Thompson has focused on backing and supporting creative individuals in private companies. He is Chairman of Sportsdata Ltd, a private company in the education/sport technology sector. He also serves as Chairman on Guscio plc. Thompson is also a 20% shareholder in Fonix Ltd (telephony), a company he backed in 2006.

Personal life

Thompson's main interest outside business is in horse racing. His father bought the Cheveley Park Stud farm in 1975, and Richard has taken an active interest in the farm since that time. The farm has owned horses such as Pivotal, Medicean, Russian Rhythm, Confidential Lady, Peeress and Nannina. His mother, Patricia, was also the owner of the 1992 Grand National winner, Party Politics.

References