How rich is Rupert Lowe?

[Dog]

In comparison with other chairman at other football clubs, what exactly is Lowe worth?

I understand 'loweholdings' own a big electrical contractor named Lowe & Oliver which are based in Oxford, but what else does he have up his sleeve?

I would say he is alot richer now than before he attached himself to SFC and bled this beautiful football club dry.

[benjii]

It's completely immaterial as none of it will ever benefit SFC.

 

For the record though, in the grand scheme of things, not a lot.

[Dog]

That is exactly my point.

What use is he to us? F¤ck all.

[Gordon Mockles]

Sorry to be blunt but, who cares?!

[so22saint]

Sorry to be blunt but, who cares?!

 

I care. I'd love to know how much he made in dividends from Southampton Leisure Holdings - if it's more than 2 million quid it would be nice if he ploughed some of it in to get a couple of 30 year old defenders, a 30 year old midfielder and a 30 year old striker on loan so we had a bit of a team blend.

[SOTONS EAST SIDE]

Sorry to be blunt but, who cares?!

Exactly who gives a flying ufck about what his wealth is!

[docker-p]

He's not worth that much. He's just an also ran, local (to oxfordshire) businessman. If he wasn't with us he would be ****ing off everyone at the Cotswolds chamber of commerce. In football terms a real no mark

[Mole]

I looked up his house (Ravenswell Farm, Withington) on the online ordnance survey and then used these co-ordinates to find his farm on google earth.

 

Judging by the swimming pool and tennis court i'd say it's worth a couple of million.

 

Anyone know Wildes address in Jersey?

[Long Shot]

I looked up his house (Ravenswell Farm, Withington) on the online ordnance survey and then used these co-ordinates to find his farm on google earth.

 

Judging by the swimming pool and tennis court i'd say it's worth a couple of million.

 

Anyone know Wildes address in Jersey?

 

 

Try the "Dog and Duck" public house

[VectisSaint]

He's not worth that much. He's just an also ran, local (to oxfordshire) businessman. If he wasn't with us he would be ****ing off everyone at the Cotswolds chamber of commerce. In football terms a real no mark

Gloucestershire actually. His pile is about 8 miles south east of Cheltenham. As farms go its not that big, he evidently only empoys 1 person.

 

What makes me laugh is that he was a candidate for UKIP, and yet when it comes to football he wants to embrace Europe. Seems a little contradictory to me.

[VectisSaint]

I looked up his house (Ravenswell Farm, Withington) on the online ordnance survey and then used these co-ordinates to find his farm on google earth.

 

Judging by the swimming pool and tennis court i'd say it's worth a couple of million.

 

Anyone know Wildes address in Jersey?

Wilde lives in Burley, at least during the time when he is allowed into the country

[simo]

Sorry to be blunt but, who cares?!

 

Right we will never see any of it!

[stevegrant]

What makes me laugh is that he was a candidate for UKIP, and yet when it comes to football he wants to embrace Europe. Seems a little contradictory to me.

Not true. He was a candidate for the Referendum Party, who have absolutely no ties to UKIP at all.

[sotonist]

I care. I'd love to know how much he made in dividends from Southampton Leisure Holdings - if it's more than 2 million quid it would be nice if he ploughed some of it in to get a couple of 30 year old defenders, a 30 year old midfielder and a 30 year old striker on loan so we had a bit of a team blend.

 

dividend wise the club peaked at 3p per share around 2004, which put lowe's portion at about £50,000. Significantly less than his salary.

[Capel Saint]

Compared to the likes of us he is very rich. However, in football terms, he is not.

[Long Shot]

Not true. He was a candidate for the Referendum Party, who have absolutely no ties to UKIP at all.

 

 

Didn't the UKIP party metamorphis out of the Referendum Party when Goldsmith gave up the ghost. Their policies (not that I have studied them in detail) seem very similar.

[Mole]

Didn't the UKIP party metamorphis out of the Referendum Party when Goldsmith gave up the ghost. Their policies (not that I have studied them in detail) seem very similar.

 

I think this is true. Both parties are a bit crack-pot with David Cameron stating UKIP is the party for closet racists.

[stevegrant]

Didn't the UKIP party metamorphis out of the Referendum Party when Goldsmith gave up the ghost. Their policies (not that I have studied them in detail) seem very similar.

A quick look at that ever-reliable () site Wikipedia tells me that both UKIP and the Referendum Party had candidates standing for election in the 1997 General Election, so UKIP certainly wasn't formed as a result of Goldsmith's death.

 

In fact, Wikipedia's entry for the Referendum Party says that "most Referendum Party candidates, activists and supporters were of Eurosceptic, but some were pro-European".

[slickmick]

Wilde lives in Burley, at least during the time when he is allowed into the country

 

The picture that has been published on this forum of Michael Wilde standing on his lawn in front of a white house, is that his Jersey home or the one in Burley.

The reason I ask, is that there is one very similar looking thats for sale in the New Forest.

[Window Cleaner]

dividend wise the club peaked at 3p per share around 2004, which put lowe's portion at about £50,000. Significantly less than his salary.

 

And the last time we paid a dividend was when in 2005?

 

Imagine he'd had his million quid or so in a building society or high interest account at the bank. He'd have made a damn sight more than he would out of SLH PLC.

This applies to nearly every shareholder of said PLC.

The only ones who really profited were those who bought cheap (bout 26p)

afer relegation and sold either at one of the 50p surges or who hit the gold streak during the "Allen Fiasco".

[Window Cleaner]

The picture that has been published on this forum of Michael Wilde standing on his lawn in front of a white house, is that his Jersey home or the one in Burley.

The reason I ask, is that there is one very similar looking thats for sale in the New Forest.

 

How much?

[Mole]

The picture that has been published on this forum of Michael Wilde standing on his lawn in front of a white house, is that his Jersey home or the one in Burley.

The reason I ask, is that there is one very similar looking thats for sale in the New Forest.

 

Time for some detective work me thinks.

 

Can anyone tell which is his house on this map?

 

http://www.aboutmyplace.co.uk/showmap?id=20672762&type=property&poi=property

Edited 29 October, 2008 by Mole

[slickmick]

How much?

 

£2m...I think. I will try and find the link (wish I saved it now) but if its his Jersey home it might save me a lot of time bothering to search.

[trousers]

http://www.spencersofburley.com/search//4.html?n=10&minprice=100&showstc=on&orderby=price+asc&search_price_on=price

[Window Cleaner]

http://www.spencersofburley.com/search//4.html?n=10&minprice=100&showstc=on&orderby=price+asc&search_price_on=price

 

Put me down for the one at 3 million then, make a nice guest house.

[slickmick]

Guide Price £1,350,000 - SOLD STC

Garden Road, Burley

 

Is this it ?

I was looking at websites that sell grazing and agricultural land, and a house (possibly the one above trousers found) that looked like the one MW was posing in front of appeared. I will look tommorrow.

[Scudamore]

Glad to see some people agreeing with my thoughts on this...who gives a f::ck?

[trousers]

Probably me being a tad slow today....but what does all this mean? That MW is about to throw in the towel at SFC?

[Window Cleaner]

Probably me being a tad slow today....but what does all this mean? That MW is about to throw in the towel at SFC?

 

Nah, he's selling his gaff to buy us Kaka isn't he.

Anyway, if he wants 1.5 million sharpish he has things that he could sell far more easily than a house in the New Forest.

Leon is waiting for his call with his check for £1.4 million already written out under the kitchen clock.

Edited 29 October, 2008 by Window Cleaner

[slickmick]

Probably me being a tad slow today....but what does all this mean? That MW is about to throw in the towel at SFC?

 

 

No... he is going to invest it into SFC. :smt044

[Wes Tender]

This applies to nearly every shareholder of said PLC.

The only ones who really profited were those who bought cheap (bout 26p)

afer relegation and sold either at one of the 50p surges or who hit the gold streak during the "Allen Fiasco".

 

Of course, the ones who have benefited massively were the ones on the old board, who had bought shares for £1 a piece and the value of those shareholdings increased massively. I think if I recall correctly that Askham for example had about 2500 shares which became worth well over a million after the reverse takeover had he sold them then. They're worth a lot less currently, but considering what he has gained over the years in terms of influence at the club for his £2500, I'd have gladly coughed up that amount too and I'm sure many others would too.

[VectisSaint]

Not true. He was a candidate for the Referendum Party, who have absolutely no ties to UKIP at all.

Of course, you're right about the party, sorry about that, memory going with old age. But the observation still holds, since the Referendum Party have similar views to UKIP. Although ostensibly they were simply seeking a referendum (neutral) they did not generally field candidates in constituencies where the incumbent was euro-sceptic.

[um pahars]

Imagine he'd had his million quid or so in a building society or high interest account at the bank. He'd have made a damn sight more than he would out of SLH PLC.

 

What million pound was this????

 

The only ones who really profited were those who bought cheap (bout 26p) afer relegation and sold either at one of the 50p surges or who hit the gold streak during the "Allen Fiasco".

 

Or arguably those whose shareholdings, position in the cabal and position of influence ensured they got the boss job at the Club and with it the ability to take out about £3m as a result.

[70's Mike]

And the last time we paid a dividend was when in 2005?

 

Imagine he'd had his million quid or so in a building society or high interest account at the bank. He'd have made a damn sight more than he would out of SLH PLC.

This applies to nearly every shareholder of said PLC.

The only ones who really profited were those who bought cheap (bout 26p)

afer relegation and sold either at one of the 50p surges or who hit the gold streak during the "Allen Fiasco".

 

 

you make it sound as if we should feel sorry for them, wonder why they bought them in the first place.

as far as i am aware very few have got wealthy by buying shares in a football club,except United, Doug Ellis and the Moores

[sun of spain]

In comparison with other chairman at other football clubs, what exactly is Lowe worth?

I understand 'loweholdings' own a big electrical contractor named Lowe & Oliver which are based in Oxford, but what else does he have up his sleeve?

I would say he is alot richer now than before he attached himself to SFC and bled this beautiful football club dry.

 

He might be wealthy in money terms,but he's bankrupt as far as Saints fans are concerned (in more ways than one).We won't get a penny of his cash however rich he is,his idea of helping the club is bleeding it dry (as you say) and bringing it to its knees.

 

I don't doubt the man is richer now than before he attached himself to SFC,which only leaves a very bitter taste in many fans mouths.

[bridge too far]

I have a lot of contacts within the construction industry for the NHS - all over the country - and I've never heard of Lowe & Oiver!

[saintjinksie]

Gloucestershire actually. His pile is about 8 miles south east of Cheltenham. As farms go its not that big, he evidently only empoys 1 person.

 

What makes me laugh is that he was a candidate for UKIP, and yet when it comes to football he wants to embrace Europe. Seems a little contradictory to me.

 

not even as high profile a party as that:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Lowe

 

the good old referendum party.

[trousers]

The picture that has been published on this forum of Michael Wilde standing on his lawn in front of a white house, is that his Jersey home or the one in Burley.

The reason I ask, is that there is one very similar looking thats for sale in the New Forest.

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4126

[saintbob40]

I think this is true. Both parties are a bit crack-pot with David Cameron stating UKIP is the party for closet racists.

 

Isn't that the conservative party?

[Delmary]

Guide Price £1,350,000 - SOLD STC

Garden Road, Burley

 

 

 

 

Is this it ?

I was looking at websites that sell grazing and agricultural land, and a house (possibly the one above trousers found) that looked like the one MW was posing in front of appeared. I will look tommorrow.

That looks like it. Adds weight to Long Shot's post.

[SaintJim]

in relation to Mr Abramovich he is a tramp

[Red_No_7]

He might be wealthy in money terms,but he's bankrupt as far as Saints fans are concerned (in more ways than one).We won't get a penny of his cash however rich he is,his idea of helping the club is bleeding it dry (as you say) and bringing it to its knees.

 

I don't doubt the man is richer now than before he attached himself to SFC,which only leaves a very bitter taste in many fans mouths.

 

**** sake, why do people keep on about him not putting his cash into it?

 

HE IS A CHAIRMAN OF A FOOTBALL CLUB, NOT AN OUTRIGHT OWNER.

 

how many chairman put their own money into any business?

 

i could understand if he owned say 60%, but there's no way he'll put anything in to a company that is 90% owned by other people, and nor would i and nor would any of us, lets be honest...

[Mole]

**** sake, why do people keep on about him not putting his cash into it?

 

HE IS A CHAIRMAN OF A FOOTBALL CLUB, NOT AN OUTRIGHT OWNER.

 

how many chairman put their own money into any business?

 

i could understand if he owned say 60%, but there's no way he'll put anything in to a company that is 90% owned by other people, and nor would i and nor would any of us, lets be honest...

 

Being chairman of W H Ireland do you think he should advise his clients to buy SLH shares?

[70's Mike]

**** sake, why do people keep on about him not putting his cash into it?

 

HE IS A CHAIRMAN OF A FOOTBALL CLUB, NOT AN OUTRIGHT OWNER.

 

how many chairman put their own money into any business?

 

i could understand if he owned say 60%, but there's no way he'll put anything in to a company that is 90% owned by other people, and nor would i and nor would any of us, lets be honest...

 

so why did he buy into a football club in the first place ?

 

he and his little group now control over 40% of the shares, and many chairman of comparable sized businesses do put money into them when they need to or guarantee overdrafts/ loans.

 

We are not a big business any more and different "rules" for funding small businesses apply, not legal rules but practical rules on how small businesses operate

[Red_No_7]

Being chairman of W H Ireland do you think he should advise his clients to buy SLH shares?

 

should he? yep.

 

would he? prob not.

 

my point is about the money and lowe.

 

got into a right argument yesterday with a mate cos he says saints made 23m profit in the cup year and where's that money gone.

 

trying to explain to him it wasnt profit and it was just how the nobs at the echo made it look, did my swede in:D

 

this is the thing, there has never been much money to be made in saints or most football clubs really, but some people still seriously believe lowe and others have made all these millions out of the club:smt102

 

its all a load of b*******, and people should just get down the ground, whether you jib in or pay, and support these kids. IMO

[Delmary]

should he? yep.

 

would he? prob not.

 

my point is about the money and lowe.

 

got into a right argument yesterday with a mate cos he says saints made 23m profit in the cup year and where's that money gone.

 

trying to explain to him it wasnt profit and it was just how the nobs at the echo made it look, did my swede in:D

 

this is the thing, there has never been much money to be made in saints or most football clubs really, but some people still seriously believe lowe and others have made all these millions out of the club:smt102

 

its all a load of b*******, and people should just get down the ground, whether you jib in or pay, and support these kids. IMO

If I remember correctly Lowe was paying himself over £500,000 pa when we were in the premiership. Therefore, he's done quite well out of the club.

[um pahars]

If I remember correctly Lowe was paying himself over £500,000 pa when we were in the premiership. Therefore, he's done quite well out of the club.

 

It wasn't quite that much!

 

It was more like £400k for a couple of years at its peak.

[Mole]

Don't forget the money him and Andrew Cowen demanded when they were forced out.

 

How much did Lowe pocket then?

[Delmary]

It wasn't quite that much!

 

It was more like £400k for a couple of years at its peak.

I stand corrected £406,513 (2003-2004).

[Delmary]

Equally relevant and true today???

Simon Jordan

The Observer

 

Sunday February 5 2006

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/feb/05/sport.comment1

Lowe's high-class guide to being a low-rent chairman

 

How does Southampton fans' new song 'Swing Lowe, Swing Rupert Lowe' rate as anti-chairman abuse? Personally, I like it: it's not tasteful, but a rugby song suits, and it's been a while coming. Under Rupert, Southampton have reached a cup final, moved to a new ground and stayed in the Premiership while bigger clubs fell away. But the fact that in two-and-half years he's gone from a Cup final appearance and tacit acceptance from fans, to 'swinging from the Itchen Bridge' shouldn't be cause for surprise.

There are two levels to this abuse, and it does need a disclaimer. The song is smart, but the associated hostility isn't: on that level Lowe deserves sympathy. Fans don't have the right to brickbat chairmen, to threaten them. I also can't see the advantage, as Lowe has pointed out, of turning St Mary's into a hive of negativity. He won't walk out of the club because people are being catty - he'll go when the financial package is right. So why drag the team down in the meantime?

The second level, though - the sentiment - is unputdownable. However you look at it, Rupert has earned this opposition. His comic-book pomposity, his superior air, his 'RL' training-ground tracksuit - all those things make him alienating and hard to work with, but that's just his way. The more serious factors are these: his image, fair or not, as a chairman living vicariously through his club; his commercial agenda; and the sense that not only does he not take fan opinion seriously, he simply doesn't understand it.

The tipping point - where the collective fan patience totally snapped - was Theo Walcott. At first glance his explanation for the sale seemed sound, the fan reaction ignorant and unfair. FA academy contracts are unprotected, he said, and having 'mistakenly' allowed the boy to play first-team football unprotected, he faced either negotiating compensation with a new club (£12m), or going to an appeal (£400,000). So he did his best for Southampton.

That point, in isolation, is fine: yes, the FA are complicit in throwing open the doors of academies, allowing agents to crawl all over and unsettle pubescent boys. It's sick, and, as Lowe says, it 'needs to be remedied by the football establishment as a matter of urgency before the academy system is discredited'.

But here's the problem. Rupert's background, his track record, totally discredit his posturing. What is the 'football establishment'? It's Rupert. He's been an ever-present, opinionated participant at the top level for almost 10 years, offering blue prints to change the game, talking up his academy. So did he really not know about the lack of protection around youth players until last month? And how does that apparent lack of knowledge square with his academy's recruitment programme? Dexter Blackstock taken from Oxford; Notts County's 16-year-old David McGoldrick; another Notts County kid, Leon Best, signed for £50,000. And then there's the £2,000 he paid Swindon for an 11-year-old in 2000 - a kid called Theo Walcott.

Hypocrisy aside - and let's be fair, by being hypocritical Rupert's showing he may be a 'football man' after all - fans must wonder how much of a body blow, a 'deep disappointment', losing Theo really was for him. Since relegation, Lowe has released 25 players and brought in eight: the moment he's outside the Premiership comfort zone and working in a far tougher business environment, he rolls over. And the biggest question of all: how can he apparently not see why all the above is a problem for fans?

It may sound glib, but a chairman really needs to know and to feel the culture of the game, to be a fan. Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough, Delia at Norwich, Milan Mandaric at Portsmouth: all single-minded, respected, committed fans. I'm not saying Milan grew up in Yugoslavia calling himself 'Pompey mush', but he gets fan culture.

David Dein is another you have to admire - I love him for his total Arsenalness. He's one of those people who'll always come up to you, shake your hand, ask how things are going and then stiff you in the nicest possible way. He offered us Matthew Upson on loan in 2001 for a salary of £10,000 a week - we took him for two months, then later found out his Arsenal salary was half that. And every time we met in 2000 he'd offer me Christopher Wreh - that was his favourite 'favour'. I've learnt a lot.

What they have in common - what I feel I have too - is commitment, an emotional attachment and a shared vision. It earns you respect in the same way the alternative earns you a hanging. How much warmth does anyone feel for the men who are in the game for the status it gives them, for the commerce or as bland front men for corporations, happy to posture, but with nothing going on behind their eyes?

My predecessor at Palace - if you don't count Mark Goldberg, and it's best that way - was Ron Noades. He ran this club as a business. He drove into Palace with limited means and drove out 17 years later with £20m, two golf courses and the freehold of Selhurst Park. He ran the club exceptionally well - Palace's most successful era, with cup finals and fabulous league performances - but because of the divided agenda, the conflict between profit, stability and ambition, the club was held back from hitting the next level.

That's the bottom line. If your business agenda is not aligned with the football agenda, the club can't accelerate and fans will get at you. And if you can't use fan opinion as a useful reference point to every decision - not to court popularity or go bananas Goldberg/Ridsdale style - but as a genuine, useful business guide, you'll go backwards.

Lowe says, 'Criticism is part of the package of being a chairman' - a phrase that casts fans as hysterical know-nothings. I've made mistakes in my five years here, but the reason I'm not swinging from the Croydon flyover is because I've understood criticism, tried to learn from it, and can always point to my record to show my motivation is one-track. I came into the game at 32: if I hadn't made use of the natural exuberance and enthusiasm being a fan gives you, if I'd slotted into the background, kept quiet and become a boardroom nonentity, would my club have gone from administration into the Premiership within four years?

What it comes down to is this. If Rupert Lowe got football, got the proles who pay him to watch it, got the reasons why he's unpopular, he wouldn't be in the hole he's in now. And that's a positive sign for the club game, a sign of its strength and ability to self-regulate. So what does Rupert do next? He could avoid quick PR fixes and try, really try, to grasp that sticking to an ego, money-driven agenda will feed the negativity. Or he could agree a sale price and go back to a life of ruddy-faced luxury. Faced with those choices, even Rupert must know his time's up.