ROYAL
ENTREPRENEUR
We would all like to make a humdinger of a success of our businesses, to be able to do the deal which sets us up for life. No more money worries, no more sleepless nights. So is this what we can look forward to, if, by some strange quirk of fate, it were ever to happen to us? Sir John Madejski is better equipped than most to answer this question. As founder of Auto Trader and Chairman of Reading Football Club, not to mention the owner of a plethora of commercial interests in publishing, property, media and hospitality, Sir John has been there, seen it and brought a wardrobe full of t-shirts. Here, he gives B4’s Richard Rosser an insight into his views and opinions on the economy, education and football, and offers us all some invaluable advice. I met a relaxed Sir John at his ‘house’, The Madejski Stadium, home of Reading FC. He spends a significant amount of time in his penthouse overlooking Reading, and it was there that I saw ‘Rich Man, Poor Man’, a BBC 4 documentary on the life of Sir John Madejski OBE DL. Having known Sir John for over thirty years, nothing in the documentary gave me cause to believe that he had changed one jot since I last met him, before he sold Hurst Publishing (comprising Auto Trader). I had always known John as an engaging, down to earth and personable character, and neither the documentary, nor the subsequent interview, altered that impression. That alone should tell you all you need to know about a man who has enjoyed as much ‘bonne chance’ as Sir John. What became abundantly clear from our chat, however, was his deep concern about the state of the economy and the possible implications for the continuing uncertainty that all of us are experiencing. Talking before his property development firm, Sackville Developments, was granted planning permission to revamp Station Hill in Reading, a multi-million pound scheme to redevelop the run-down area around Reading Station, Sir John qualified his fears. “At the moment, there is no bottom line to anything, and that’s the problem. Until we know where we are, then it is very difficult valuing anything, and nothing can really improve until we reach the so called ‘bottom’ of this
There is no doubt that Sir John’s opinion counts. It is, however, a strange paradox that, during the BBC 4 documentary, he was shown receiving a fellowship from Henley Management College in front of a room full of ‘text book’ business students. They were there to honour and applaud him, but would they do it the ‘John Madejski’ way? “I felt strangely inadequate receiving that fellowship. There I was in front of a very talented group of individuals who were looking up, admiring me, but I couldn’t do what they do and they probably wouldn’t do as I have done. It certainly was a strange irony.” One thing that Sir John has a distinct aversion to is adding to his burgeoning eighteen company portfolio. His open courting of an offer for, arguably, his pride and joy, Reading Football Club, highlights his desire to start winding down his business interests, rather than look for the next Auto Trader. Although the flame is certainly not yet out in that department. Sir John purchased Reading FC in 1990 from the jaws of the receivers, and by 1998, following his £25 million injection, the Club’s Madejski Stadium had been built. Despite helping to secure the club’s first ever promotion in their one hundred and thirty five year history to the top flight, and recently proposing plans for the stadium’s expansion to 38,000 seats, he would sell tomorrow if the right man came along, having famously quipped, ‘I’ll listen to sensible offers, but from billionaires only. Millionaires need not apply.’ Whoever
“….this time the banks are in trouble…..” trough. Although we keep hearing that the economy is supposed to be recovering, the next minute we hear it’s on the wane. “There is a state of flux and, quite frankly, until it starts easing and we start moving out of the recession, it is very difficult to predict anything. There are so many mixed messages out there, as you must know being the editor of a business magazine. You must talk to lots of people in business, and it is obviously a challenging time for all of them. People are just doing their very best to meet the challenges, and that’s what we all have to do. We have to be totally positive. “It will come to an end, there is no doubt about that, but the question has to be ‘when’. The significant difference between this downturn and recent recessions that I have experienced, is that this time the banks are in trouble. Banks have always been solid in my lifetime, institutions to rely on. This time the banks haven’t been so dependable, and this has culminated in the state stepping in. This is a fundamental factor and makes an enormous difference.”
takes over the reigns following Sir John’s near double decade tenure will have to have significant resources. The Club achieved pre-tax profits of £6.6 million during the tax year ending in June 2007, and has recently been valued at £100 million. “If there is somebody out there with enormously deep pockets, then I would step aside, it’s as simple as that. Who knows, if someone comes in, they might want me to be involved in some way.” Says Sir John, underlining his deep affinity with the Club. “I know I could bring value to the club. By his own admission, John was a relative football novice when he took over at Elm Park all those years ago, so where does he see himself against his peers? “My contribution is reflected in the fact that we are a well run Club. We are not a Club that is going to be reckless – I would never condone putting the Club in jeopardy for the sake of short term gain. And as regards my football knowledge, I can now hold my own when explaining the offside rule! “When we gained promotion to the top flight in 2006, we did it in some style
46
www.b4-business.com