Gary Neville was hailed as the ‘ex-professional footballer turned businessman extraordinaire’ when the BBC confirmed the former Manchester United defender as a guest Dragon on their hit show Dragons’ Den.
The 48-year-old still remains best known for his achievements playing for the Red Devils during his career, winning eight Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, three FA Cups and three League Cups.
Neville has been one of several ex-Man United stars to enter the world of business in their post-football careers, as well as establishing himself as one of Sky Sports lead pundits.
After agreeing to join Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett as a guest Dragon, Neville claimed he would look to share his experience to help entrepreneurs.
‘I am excited to join the Dragons, and to meet the entrepreneurs brave enough to face us in the Den,’ Neville said.
Gary Neville will join Dragons’ Den next series and has vowed to help budding entrepreneurs
Neville enjoyed a stellar career for Man United and has had business success in retirement
‘I hope my personal journey shows that you can take the experiences you’ve had in one part of your career and use them to do something entirely different and make it a success.
‘Business is all about managing people and managing yourself and I’m looking forward to sharing my experience to help the entrepreneurs we’ll meet in the Den reach their potential.’
He has already impressed a fellow Dragon in Bartlett, with the entrepreneur admitting he was stunned by the scale of the business portfolio developed by the former England international when he appeared on his Diary Of A CEO podcast last year.
Neville had explained the motivation behind his investments, insisting he wanted to build teams and raise standards in Greater Manchester.
‘They are all in Greater Manchester, in Salford, Trafford, Manchester city centre and I feel very focused in my investments in that,’ Neville said.
‘Some people would say that is naïve and you should expand your investments beyond Greater Manchester. No, I’m passionate about where I come from, where I live and I want to invest back into that part of the country.
‘The two hotels, the football club, the big developments that we’re doing, the university, the project management consultancy. All of them are in Greater Manchester.
‘I wanted to do a lot in businesses in Greater Manchester and build teams. The teams part of it gives me great satisfaction and I love the sectors that I’m in.’
Neville has invested in several businesses alongside members of Man United’s ‘Class of 92’
Salford City FC
Given his success both on the pitch for Manchester United and in the media world for Sky Sports, it is unsurprising that one of Neville’s main business interests comes in the world of football.
Neville joined ‘Class of 92’ team-mates Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and brother Phil in purchasing Salford City back in 2014. The ex-Man United stars teamed up with Singaporean businessman Peter Lim to complete the takeover of the club.
Salford had been in the eighth tier of English football at the time of the takeover, with the team plying its trade in the Northern Premier League First Division North.
The heavy investment from the Class of 92 team-mates, who were later joined by David Beckham in the endeavour, led to Salford securing multiple promotions to reach the Football League.
Salford, who turned professional under the ownership, were denied promotion to League One last season, with Stockport County ending their hopes on penalties in the play-off semi-finals.
Neville claimed the initial involvement in Salford began as a social project, which was aimed at bringing through young players from the area.
The ambition was to mirror the support the Class of ’92 had during the early stages of their careers.
Neville stepped down as the club’s part-time chief executive last year, with Butt taking over on a full time basis.
Class of 92 investment in Salford led to the club securing promotion to the Football League
A playoff penalty shoot-out loss to Stockport dashed hopes of promotion to League One
Property portfolio and hotels
Neville had started as a property developer while still playing for Manchester United, before founding the company Relentless Developments with Anthony Kilbride in 2015.
‘”Relentless” is my favourite word and sums up my approach to life, business, everything really,’ Neville said.
The investment company has specialised in ventures in and around the Manchester area, while he also runs ‘Zerum’, a property and construction consultancy business.
His enterprises include Hotel Football, a luxury hotel overlooking Old Trafford, and The Stock Exchange Hotel near Piccadilly Gardens, one of the top hotels in Manchester.
Neville and Giggs renovated of the old grade II-listed Stock Exchange building, after buying it in 2013 for £1.5million along with hotelier Winston Zahra.
The hotel, until last year, included a restaurant run by Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, as well as a penthouse.
The penthouse includes three-bedrooms and bathrooms and boasts panoramic views of the city, a rooftop terrace, a 10-seater glass dining table, a fitness area and its own bar.
‘I have this other side to me which is that I want to raise standards,’ Neville told the Diary Of A CEO podcast.
Neville and Ryan Giggs’ Stock Exchange hotel includes a luxurious penthouse apartment
Neville also owns Hotel Football, a luxury hotel overlooking Man United’s Old Trafford stadium
‘We wanted hospitality to be the highest level in Manchester and the Stock Exchange was my ambition to create the number one premium, luxury hotel in Manchester. The same with the development of St Michaels.
‘Some people will throw at me, how does that sit with your social conscience, you have expensive apartments, hotel rooms and charge £40 for a steak.
‘I think it is okay to be offended by Manchester not having enough affordable housing and also not having high class luxury accommodation. Why does Manchester have to be pigeon-holed into this three, four star market?’
As part of his Relentless Developments wing of his business, Neville is involved in the lucrative £120m St Michael’s project.
The redevelopment plan aims to build hotels, offices, apartments and a top restaurant in Manchester city centre.
Hotel Football, the business venture run by Neville and Giggs, however was reported last year to have lost £3m over a two-year period. The losses were claimed to have been caused by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the hospitality sector.
The Overlap
One of Neville’s more recent investments has enjoyed huge success, with the 48-year-old having launched the behind-the-scenes series, The Overlap, two years ago.
The channel began with Neville starring alongside other professional athletes as he conducted in-depth and unique interviews.
David Beckham, Tyson Fury, and Harry Kane are among the sports stars to have joined Neville, with the produced content typically generating headlines with its agenda-setting discussion points.
The Overlap has amassed a YouTube following of over 500,000, while its popularity has led to an on the road tour.
Neville has been joined in stage shows by fellow Sky Sports pundits Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher, as they debate the latest football topics.
The Overlap has proven a financial success for Neville with a YouTube series and road tour
The Overlap has featured interviews with several sporting stars like Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk
The latest financial accounts have shown an increase in cash in the bank with The Overlap Ltd holding funds of over £1m, a significant rise from the £576,169 the previous year.
Net current assets have nearly doubled to £146,571, while the revenue and profit surge meant corporation tax has also increased from £19,025 in 2021 up to £34,357 for the 12 months of 2022.
The pundit had also co-founded production company Buzz 16 in 2017, which has overseen programmes such as Soccerbox and Class of ’92 Full Time.
Neville sold his controlling stake in February as part of deal reported to be worth around £200m.
He also used to be a senior investor in E3 Creative, a digital creative agency specialising in online marketing and corporate strategy, but left the venture in 2019.
University UA92
UA92 was founded by Neville and fellow Class of ’92 members in partnership with Lancaster University in 2017.
The higher education establishment says it works with exceptional individuals, organisations and businesses with the aim of fast-tracking students’ careers.
It is claimed the university offers students academic excellence combined with character and personal development.
Manchester United, Microsoft, KPMG and TalkTalk are among the leading organisations to have partnered with the UA92.
Neville has said that the university began as a ‘social project’, with the ambition to remove barriers to higher education.
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