Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of Lakshi Mittal, has quit as vice-chairman of QPR. Mr Bhatia looked after the steel magnate’s interests at the club. The Mittals intend to retain their 33 per cent stake in the club and in due course will appoint a representative on the board to look after their interests.
Mr Bhatia said his strategy for the club differed from that of other shareholders and board members. In particular he disagreed with recent decisions to increase season ticket prices and to sack the chief executive Ishan Saksena.
Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of Lakshi Mittal, has quit as vice-chairman of QPR. Mr Bhatia looked after the steel magnate’s interests at the club. The Mittals intend to retain their 33 per cent stake in the club and in due course will appoint a representative on the board to look after their interests.
Mr Bhatia said his strategy for the club differed from that of other shareholders and board members. In particular he disagreed with recent decisions to increase season ticket prices and to sack the chief executive Ishan Saksena.
Mr Bhatia said that the Mittals had been in talks about buying the club, but these discussions had now come to an end. Bernie Ecclestone, the 62 per cent shareholder in QPR, denied that there had been such talks and dismissed the Mittals as ‘just a minority shareholder’. There is still some uncertainty about Mr Ecclestone’s long-run intentions in relation to the club.
In relation to the season ticket prices, Mr Ecclestone said that the decision had been taken by the board and the prices were based on those at all the other clubs around. Presumably this meant Chelsea rather than Brentford.