IN-DEPTH NEWS
Earl with a long-term outlook
Robert Earl: his role at Goodison is thus far undefined
Robert Earl, a figure hitherto unknown to most Evertonians before Friday's suprise announcement, completed the purchase of Paul and Anita Gregg's 7,000+ block of shares and ended their association with the club as they resigned from the Board of Directors.
If media reports are correct, the deal values Everton at around £100m and more than doubled the Greggs' initial investment of £7.2m, but the actual profit for the couple that helped Bill Kenwright buy out Peter Johnson's controlling stake in 2000 appears to be less than £2m. Speculation this morning suggests that Earl paid £9m for the Greggs' shares and has no immediate plans to provide further funds. That would seem to indicate that Earl, a friend of Kenwright and fellow financial backer of the Labor Party, was brought in to facilitate the removal of Gregg from the Boardroom and to capitalise on Everton's plans to relocate to a new stadium.
It marks the end of a three-year feud between Gregg and Kenwright and consolidates the Chairman's position as steward of the club's short- and medium-term future. John Woods, the only other director on the Board for the time being, remained a staunch ally throughout the boardroom impasse, and Earl's role at Everton looks to be a silent one for now.
Though English born and raised, Earl has been based in the United States for the past 20 years and currently operates his casino and leisure properties out of Orlando, Florida.
It was there in 1986 that he opened one of his first themed restaurant ventures, King Henry's Feast dinner show, before setting up President Entertainment which he eventually sold to Pleasurama, the owners of Hard Rock Cafe, for $30m. Earl assumed management of the firm and in the next 15 years opened a further 15 outlets of the famous chain.
That success paved the way for an opportunity presented by film producer, Keith Barish, who pitched him the Planet Hollywood concept, one which Earl eventually built into a successful franchise with support from film stars Silvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.
Planet Hollywood opened with a fanfare on Wall Street and its market capitalisation surged past $3bn within the first three hours of trading. While the initial success of the chain made Earl an instant billionnaire, however, the novelty eventually wore off with customers and rapid expansion meant both the celebrities and the brand itself were stretched too thin.
Bankruptcy followed in 1999 and, after Earl had pumped $30m of investment back in to revive the franchise, again after the economic downturn that followed September 11, 2001.
He responded by scaling back to just the 18 restaurants that exist today but now plans a full resurrection of the Planet Hollywood concept this year.
Using investment from the Starwood Hotel chain and Bay Harbour Management, Earl purchased the ageing Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for $635m and is set to unveil the Planet Hollywood Resort in its place on "The Strip" this autumn. He is also looking at expanding that concept into Asia, possibly in Macau.
Having once been valued well in excess of $1bn, Robert Earl's personal fortune was recently valued at around £210m in The Sunday Times's Rich List. Not on the scale of a Lady Grantchester, of course, but certainly enough to give cause for optimism for Evertonians if assertions in today's Telegraph that Earl will help fund player transfers and, of course, the club's plans for a new stadium.
Nothing is known, of course, about Earl's interest in the club or football in general and how much, if any, he is willing to invest of his own capital in players, either now or in the future.
A new stadium development, of course, is an entirely different kettle of fish. The Kings Dock proposal was built around provisions for large-scale entertainment events and leisure facilities, and while a site like the proposed location in Kirkby won't have the same alllure as the waterfront, there would certainly be sufficient scope for restaurants — can you say "Planet Hollywood"? — pubs and other nightlife attractions.
And if Earl's Vegas venture really takes off, he'll have plenty of extra funds from which to draw. He clearly hasn't bought such a large stake in Everton for nothing; a businessman of his acumen will have had to have been convinced by grand plans and huge potential. If nothing else, that should buy Kenwright some faith capital with those fans who have been critical of his failure to attract any investment since assuming control of the club six years ago.