How exactly did QPR's majority owner Ruben Gnanalingam make his cash? | OneFootball

Owning any football club is an expensive endeavour, and that is the case for QPR owners Ruben Gnanalingam, Richard Reilly, and Amit Bhatia.

Following a tough 2023/24 campaign, Queens Park Rangers are enjoying life under Spanish boss Martí Cifuentes.

After leading the R’s away from relegation last season, Cifuentes has been backed in recent transfer windows, even if spending has been modest.

In January, QPR recruited four new faces, bringing Ronnie Edwards and Min-hyeok Yang on loan from Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, with permanent additions Harvey Vale and Esquerdinha recruited from Chelsea and Fluminense.

Owning any football club is an expensive endeavour, and that is the case for QPR owners Ruben Gnanalingam, Richard Reilly, and Amit Bhatia.

Fans across English football likely recognise the name Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian businessman that funded QPR’s big-spending days in the Premier League.

Although Rangers’ approach of signing big name stars such as Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar and Shaun Wright-Phillips ultimately did not pay off in the top flight, Fernandes remained involved at Loftus Road following relegation to the Championship.

The airline magnate only left the club in 2023, handing over to long-term business partner Ruben Gnanalingam.

Gnanalingam has been involved with the club since arriving with compatriot Fernandes in 2011.

Over time, the Malaysian has slowly grown his stakeholding at Loftus Road, first increasing his percentage of shares to 33% in 2016, before becoming majority owner with 60% upon Fernandes’ departure in 2023.

The remaining 40% of shares are primarily split between two other investors, American businessman Richard Reilly, and British-Indian Amit Bhatia.

Like Gnanalingam, Reilly has slowly increased the amount of shares he owns in the club, going from an initial shareholding of 12% to his current stake of 21%.

That leaves Bhatia with a holding of just under 20% shares.

Whilst Reilly is a recent addition to the QPR board, Bhatia has been involved in some capacity since 2007 – making him the longest-serving member of the trio.

Ruben Gnanalingam – heir to family fortune

Reuters

According to Forbes, the Gnanalingam family is worth $1.6billion as of April 2024, mainly due to their stake in Westports Holdings.

The company, co-founded by Gnanalingam’s father G. Gnanalingham, operates one of the biggest ports in Asia, based in the strait of Malacca.

Gnanalingam junior has operated as Westports’ CEO since 2015, but evidently has not been able to invest much of his family’s reported worth in QPR.

In comparison, Reilly and Bhatia currently enjoy more modest wealth.

Reilly founded and now runs RBI Solar, a company which produces equipment and resources for renewable energy projects.

Once upon a time, Reilly worked as a financial analyst, both in the private sector for Morgan Stanley, and for the Bush administration.

Outside of QPR, Reilly has further investments in the sporting world, namely as a partner in MLS outfit FC Cincinnati and MLB team Cincinnati Reds.

Bhatia similarly founded his own company, private equity firm Swordfish Investments, which is managed by Swordfish Capital management.

Formerly chairman at QPR, Bhatai was introduced to the club via marriage – his father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal helped bankroll the club during the early 2010s.

QPR owners’ future plans for club and stadium

However, it is clear that the current owners are not willing to invest massive sums of money, following their plans at the end of last year to find new investors to fund a new stadium.

The plan, titled ‘Project Big Ben’, requires further investment from outsiders, with talk of QPR finding a new home rife during Fernandes’ time at the club.

It appears Gnanalingam shares the same view as his former co-chairman, believing that the club requires a new state-of-the-art stadium to grow.

In a brochure designed to attract new investors, QPR revealed that American bank Montminy & Co value the Championship club at £120million.

Whilst all three members of the trio wish to remain at the club following new investment, it is clear that QPR’s owners do not currently have the liquid funds to bankroll a charge up the Championship table, where the summit is dominated by those with the biggest wage bills.