Inside Dragons’ Den star Gary Neville’s £100m empire – 5-star hotels, TV shows with Man United legends… and saving a pub
HE is the former England footballer who has netted big bucks outside of the sporting world thanks to savvy business moves.
Now Gary Neville, 48, is cementing his reputation by appearing on Dragons’ Den tonight - and he has impressed fellow investors.
Show regular Deborah Meaden said the ex-Manchester United star had “a really good business brain”.
She explained: “You’d think he had been a Dragon his entire life… He was fantastic, I’m not kidding you, and he’s prepared to invest.”
Aside from his work as a football commentator Gary, who retired from sport in 2011, oversees a broad £100million business empire, according to Companies House reports.
Ahead of the star’s appearance on the hit BBC programme, we look at the impressive portfolio of businesses behind the football legend.
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Property portfolio & £400m dream
Gary has been listed as a director of 56 businesses on Companies House – and while he has interests in media, hotels, pubs, restaurants and education, his most impressive work has been in property development.
The footballer first got into property development in his early 20s and now has a chain of hotels and townhouses, as well as development projects.
Among the most high-profile interests are Stock Exchange Hotel and Hotel Football, which between them hold £32million in property assets - almost a third of his corporate net wealth.
The star owns a 40 per cent share in the Stock Exchange development, which is close to Piccadilly Gardens, in Manchester, alongside former teammate Ryan Giggs - and he also co-runs the luxurious Hotel Football, which overlooks Old Trafford.
There will also be a 41-storey tower, which will house a 162-bed five-star hotel as well as 217 apartments and 75,000 square-foot of office space.
In September, they purchased Manchester Reform Synagogue as part of the project for £15million.
St Michaels UK Propco's first trading figures, from December 2022, showed they held £32.9million in investment properties, according to company accounts.
Fred described the project as a “defining regeneration project” for Manchester and it’s claimed it will bring up to 3,000 jobs and £120million investment to the city.
It’s unclear when the project will be finished but Gary previously told the MEN that the scheme has “been no less than 15 years in the making”.
Gary also holds assets in Bootle Street, which are being held for development by his firm Relentless Management Services.
TV ventures
In addition to property and hospitality, Gary runs Tiger Sports Management - the residual image rights and sponsorship firm that he set up in 1996 when he was just 21 years old.
The company was reported to have made an impressive £1million in profit in the 2017/2018 financial year. It held £6.5million in ongoing profits as of 30 April 2022.
Other media interests include Buzz 16 Productions, which Gary co-founded in 2017 and has produced programmes including YouTube series The Overlap, Sky's Class Of 92: Full Time and Soccerbox.
There is also Relentless Media, which was set up in June 2022 and is yet to file accounts.
Footie pals
Despite retiring from professional football in 2011, Neville has not turned his back on the game.
He owns a share of League Two club Salford City FC alongside former David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.
It is run via Project 1992 but has yet to prove a money spinner, with figures reporting £18.5million in ongoing losses as of 30 June 2022.
Neville and his former teammates also turned their hands to education, setting up University Academy 92, also known as UA92.
The philanthropic venture provides students who used to be on free school meals with a laptop, data allowance, free transport and free home voucher worth the equivalent of £5,000.
Restaurants and boozers
Gary and his wife, Emma, also co-own Relentless Group, who have have control of at least a dozen other firms.
Interests include Michelin-star restaurant The Man Behind the Curtain, which is based in Leeds, that he co-owns with Michael O’Hare.
The lease for the venue runs until 2037 and was recorded to be nursing £100,000 worth of losses at the end of 2021, believed to be due to the impact of Covid lockdowns.
Gary and Emma also run Signature Living and Signature Developments, which are both in Manchester, but they were dormant as of their latest accounts.
He was listed as owning the Sir Ralph Abercromby, a pub in Manchester - it accounted for £1.9 million of the £11.5 million in property assets held via his Relentless Group.
The pub had been scheduled for demolition, but plans were torn up after locals fought hard to save it back in 2016, with a petition that landed over 5,000 signatures.
Relentless Investments and parent firm Relentless Holdings has added another £4.6million to his riches.
Despite his riches and promising TV career, Neville may not be able to retire as yet.
Figures suggest almost £20million worth of losses across all interests combined – led in part by the hotel interests still working their way through construction costs.
Ahead of his TV appearance, Gary said he was "absolutely delighted to join the Dragons' Den" on an interim contract.
He said: "I’m going to bring character, personality, drive, determination, hard work, all the things you’d want in a team player."
Gary claimed he "had so many options on the table" before deciding to sign up for Dragons' Den.
He added: "To see my picture up on the wall in that hall of fame is one of the great moments in my career.
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"Walking through those lift doors is going to be like walking out at Old Trafford as a 19-year-old.
"Those lift doors are more famous than the Wembley tunnel. To follow in the footsteps of legends in the game like the Bannatynes of this world, the Lavanis, is something that I could never have imagined."