New Bristol Rovers chairman Hussain AlSaeed and club president Wael Al-Qadi have discussed the takeover process as well as some of Mr Hussain's plans for the football club, providing an update on a new stadium as well as the South Stand development. The duo were speaking as part of their first public interview together since the Kuwaiti businessman purchased a 55 per cent stake in Dwane Sports, the company that holds a majority share in Rovers.
The confirmation of AlSaeed becoming a co-owner in Dwane Sports and, as a result, in the club was announced on August 3 with Wael (40.5 per cent) and Samer Al-Qadi (4.5 per cent) still maintaining their respective stakes with the former remaining as club president with Abdullatif AlSaeed joining as executive vice president.
Rovers also confirmed that as part of the takeover process, the debt owed to Dwane Sports will be capitalised. This means that apart from ordinary trade creditors the club is substantively debt free.
Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, the new chairman discussed why he invested in the Gas, saying: "Our idea was to invest in English football and we looked at different clubs and we came across Bristol Rovers and thought that this was exactly what we had in mind.
"We met with Wael and we talked. We have a lot in common and we shared a lot of ideas together and I thought we could really form a good team to invest in Bristol Rovers and work together. That's why the decision came to Bristol Rovers.
"Of course, starting the negotiations, that took some time but eventually and slowly we started meeting on the side other than the financial and we started discussing ideas. We have a lot of things in common and we believe we can work with Wael very well and he believes that he can work with us very well and we have formed good partners."
AlSaeed added: "I think they [negotiations] started in February. We started talking and started looking at the club. As you know, so many things in the EFL need approval and have to take some time. It took us some time. We couldn't really look very deep in the club or examine inside the club but just the financial during that period but recently, within the last two weeks, when the EFL approved us that's when we started looking more deep into the club and the operation of the club and see what we can do."
In the matchday programme ahead of Saturday's 1-1 home draw with Barnsley, a synopsis of AlSaeed's background was provided which said: "Hussain is a Kuwaiti businessman and entrepreneur with extensive experience in treasury and investment management, as well as real estate development. He is the founder and chairman of Al Elmam Real Estate Company, a significant real estate firm in Kuwait.
"AlSaeed earned a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, Ca, in 1983. His extensive experience and expertise have contributed to his success in the business world.
"He began his career in finance as a treasury and investment manager at the Commercial Bank of Kuwait. He later served as assistant general manager at Kuwait Investment International Company and then founded M.E.C Consultants in Kuwait.
"In 1993, AlSaeed established Al Elmam Estate Company, which has been an active participant in Kuwait's real estate market. The company has successfully developed various projects, including multi-story group housing, residential townships, shopping malls, office buildings, hotels and restaurants."
When asked in his interview with Radio Bristol about plans for the club, the chairman revealed: "We will concentrate on the academy and the training ground of Bristol Rovers as part of our development because we feel Bristol Rovers has big potential and requires a lot of work but I'm really seeking from our fans to be patient.
"We cannot do it all at once, we need time. We need to first examine the operation and see how we can improve it. The main thing is to really run a club very wisely and to really sustain it so that even when we advance to a higher league then we will be ready in terms of infrastructure, in terms of interior operation so that we can compete and continue going up.
"It's not that we rush into it and try to go to the next league without really investing in the infrastructures. The training ground, the academy and of course the stadium which is a very big challenge for us."
New stadium
Back in April, Al-Qadi said the club were “moving in the right direction” regarding their proposed plans to build a new stadium at St Philip’s Marsh after the Conygar Investment Company confirmed they had acquired the option to explore planning for the 14.7 acre Fruit Market site.
Regarding a new stadium and the latest news in that particular process, AlSaeed said: "We've been in meetings with the developer and we are still talking to the developer. I think that the initial idea is that he will build the stadium for us in exchange for taking the Memorial.
"But of course as developers [it] takes time and they need to study and look at the numbers back and forth. At the moment we are in the process of negotiating with him how we can go forward. But certainly we are determined to push this through.
"We have had a couple of meetings so far and we are looking to have more and continue. Of course we appreciate so far the support that we've been getting from the local council regarding this project and we hope that this support can continue until we finally sign for the stadium. But definitely when we have any concrete news or something or an agreement on the table the fans will be the first ones to know."
Al-Qadi added: "The main reason I continue talking and eventually signing up with Hussain is that he was on board with everything that we were aiming to do at this club. In terms of infrastructure, in terms of reaching the Championship so we're totally agreed on that and that's our aim and that's what we're going to work towards.
"It's very difficult to give dates or to even predict because these things do take time as Hussain has said and as we have found out in the various projects that we've initiated in the past. It's very difficult to give a time line. But again, I can assure the fans that Hussain and I are on board and in agreement. We know what the aims are and we're going to work very hard to try and achieve these pillars that we have said before."
The club president also gave an update on the South Stand development, saying: "Expecting a stand to be built in a couple of weeks wasn't going to happen. The way things are with contractors, with councils, with everything. These hiccups do happen and unfortunately some hiccups have happened and we're dealing with it and again the goal and ambition is to get that stand built as soon as possible and we're all working towards that.
"We're hostage to events that are out of control in terms of just getting approvals or contractors and timelines. You can plan all you want to get what you want done in a month or two but in reality when you come to execute, things get delayed.
"The way we're handling it is that we're trying to manage it to get it done as soon as possible. How long that will take, I can hope it's short-term."
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
