Any training ground news

I guess we should know what the directors are putting in each year to keep us afloat. Only then could I envisage fans helping out.

Do does this plea for fan-funding mean we can expect (yet again) a delay in getting it completed?

Site officially acquired:

www.westlondonsport.com/qpr/qpr-complete-purchase-of-heston-site-for-new-training-ground?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

And on the official site:

www.qpr.co.uk/news/club-news/club-complete-purchase-of-heston-training-site/

QPR Holdings given planning permission for the Concorde Centre site it was announced today!

WLS report that work on the new training ground will get under way at last.

Rangers formally confirmed on Monday evening that planning permission has been granted and work will begin.

The club also confirmed that there will be a bond scheme to help fund the project.

Building work is expected to start before the end of the year, while the laying of new pitches – which will have undersoil heating – is expected to take nine months to complete.

Chief executive Lee Hoos said: “This is fantastic news for the club’s medium and long-term future, so I am absolutely delighted, as are the owners.

“Investment in infrastructure, such as a bespoke training ground, is the greatest indication of an ownership which is here for the long term and genuinely believes in the growth of their football club.

“The owners will be personally covering a significant portion of the cost and we will also be issuing a bond to assist with the financing.

“This approach has been successfully carried out by Burnley and Norwich City.

When Norwich issued their bond in 2018  it was to raise £5 million and the terms of the bond included a 8% annual interest rate that the club paid to investors, of this 5% of the interest was to be paid in cash whilst the remaining 3% was to be be paid in club credit.

Also included in the Norwich bond was that a 25% bonus would be paid to investors in the event the Canaries got  promoted to the Premier League during the term of the bond.

The interesting thing was that Norwich asked their fans to invest rather than donate into the club. The Norwich mantra was that fans could  expect a return on their investment whilst also contributing to the advancement of the football club. The investment allowed them to provide funds to its academy without depriving its first team or general club administration of funds.

I would imagine that we will do something similer.  The risk for any investor is that these bonds are unsecured.