Richard Bagehot

Ex-Director

Richard became a director of the club in May 2004 after Bill Tomlins put together a consortium to take control of the club after the Hatters had spent an entire year in administrative receivership following the short and controversial reign of John Gurney in the summer of 2003.

Richard is a lawyer who has worked in the sports and entertainment industry specifically for 27 years and Tomlins is hoping that his expertise will help the club in their quest to relocate to a new stadium at Junction 10 of the M1.  In addition to being a lawyer, Richard has also written several books about sponsorship and sales promotions, advertising and the law.

Bill Tomlins put together a consortium that consisted of former director John Mitchell, who had played for Fulham and Millwall in the 1970s, Derek Peters, a former financial director at Tottenham Hotspur Plc and the football club, who joined the White Hart Lane-based club in the 1980s and floated the club onto the stock market – making Spurs the first British club to ever be floated on the stock market, and Richard.

There are also two investors - Malcolm Gold, who has worked in the hotel industry, and Ken James, a banker who worked for eight years in New York.

An expert in the law and in the sports industry, Richard was hoping that he could help Luton Town to move to a new stadium.

However, things quickly turned sour.  In June 2008, Richard was again in the limelight.  Luton Town Football Club, former chairman Bill Tomlins, ex-finance director Derek Peter, Richard and fellow former director John Mitchell were all charged after an FA investigation into financial irregularities at Kenilworth Road.  Six licensed players' agents were also charged.

The investigation, which began in March 2007, found that payments made to the six agents, totalling about £160,000, by the club's holding company 'Jayten (also known as 'J10') Stadium Limited' were not disclosed to the FA on the required forms.  In addition, it was also alleged that services for the benefit of a Luton player, totalling approximately £7,000, were paid for directly by 'Jayten' but were not disclosed on the player's contract.

The charges followed an FA investigation after former Hatters manager Mike Newell claimed in early 2006 that illegal payments in the game were rife.  His allegations were shown to be right and his concerns - which had seen him sacked as Luton Town manager after he voiced these concerns - were proven to be well founded when club secretary Cherry Newbery identified the illegal payments.  She subsequently reported them to the FA.

The FA revealed their findings in June 2008 - and the results had huge consequences for Luton Town Football Club.  

The Hatters were found guilty of 15 charges of misconduct, concerning payments to agents between July 2004 and February 2007.  The Regulatory Commission found the club guilty of paying agents via a third party, but not of paying bungs and fined the club £50,000 and deducted them 10 League points for the start of the 2008-09 season.

Bill Tomlins was banned from football for five years and fined £15,000.  Derek Peter was fined £3,750 and a one-year ban from football.  Richard and John Mitchell were fined £750 and £250 respectively for failing to report to the FA the financial irregularities when they had become aware of them.

It represented the worst-case scenario for Luton Town and the decision was a huge shock and came as a massive blow for Hatters fans.

It also seemed so unfair on Luton supporters – how many more times were they going to be punished? Not only had they had to contend with selling over £14 million worth of players in 2-and-a-half-years, three different managers, a 10-point deduction the previous season and two successive relegations, they now also had to accept that they could even lose their status as a Football League club.

Profile By:  James Garley