Talking business with Gary Neville

Summary

In this interview, Gary Neville discusses the success of Hotel Football since its opening in 2015 and the inspiration behind its football theme. He shares his relentless drive for business, attributing it to his upbringing and experiences at Manchester United. Neville also talks about his ventures in property development, the hospitality industry, and his football club, Salford City. He emphasizes the importance of partnerships and the challenges of managing multiple businesses, including learning from failures and stepping out of his comfort zone.

Takeaways

• 🏨 Gary Neville's Hotel Football was initially conceived as a supporters club but evolved into a themed hotel after feasibility studies.
• 🌟 The hotel's branding was designed to appeal to all football fans, using the same team that designed for Levi's and Wrangler.
• 🏙 The Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester is a luxury hotel located in a historic, Grade II-listed building in the city center.
• 🔥 Neville emphasizes the importance of relentless drive and continuous improvement, inspired by his parents, culture, and managers at Manchester United.
• ⚽ Salford City Football Club, co-owned by Neville, aims to challenge for promotion, reflecting his dissatisfaction with mid-table stability.
• 🏟 The Peninsula Stadium, developed by Neville, is a 5,000-seat stadium that represents a significant infrastructure achievement for the club.
• 💼 Neville has stepped back from micromanaging his businesses, focusing on strategic decisions rather than operational details.
• 📈 Despite some business failures, Neville sees these as learning opportunities and believes they provide more valuable lessons than successes.
• 🤝 Partnerships with sponsors like Peninsula and Prudential are crucial for the success of his ventures, beyond just branding and logo placements.
• 🛑 Neville advises new entrepreneurs to take risks and step out of their comfort zones, but to do so within areas of knowledge and understanding.
• 🏆 Neville is committed to maintaining Manchester United's record as the most successful Premier League club and does not want Liverpool to surpass them.

Q & A

What is the main theme of Hotel Football?

Hotel Football is themed around football, aiming to appeal to all football fans.

How did the idea for Hotel Football originate?

The idea originated from a piece of land that Gary Neville picked up with a fan about six years ago, initially intended for a supporters club, but it evolved into a hotel concept.

What was the inspiration behind the name 'Hotel Football'?

The name 'Hotel Football' came from writing down the two words 'hotel' and 'football' and deciding to develop a brand around this theme.

How has Hotel Football performed since its opening in 2015?

Hotel Football has been a huge success, becoming a major attraction for football fans globally, and is now in its fourth year of trading, stabilizing for the first year.

Why did Gary Neville choose to open a luxury hotel in Manchester?

The decision was influenced by the historic nature of the building located in the city center of Manchester, which lent itself to a five-star product.

What is Gary Neville's philosophy on business and life?

Gary Neville believes in the choice to either get up and try to do things or not, emphasizing the importance of being proactive and relentless.

What is the current status of Salford City Football Club?

Salford City Football Club is not content with mid-table positions and aims to challenge for promotion, with Gary Neville expressing a desire for the team to win more games.

How does Gary Neville feel about the developments at Salford City Football Club over the past year?

He is proud of the progress, including the move to a new stadium and the club's infrastructure, but emphasizes the need for continuous improvement.

What is Gary Neville's approach to managing his businesses and dealing with challenges?

He has made a decision to step back from micromanaging by coming off email and WhatsApp, focusing more on big picture thinking and less on operational details.

How does Gary Neville handle failures in his business ventures?

He reflects on the reasons for the failures, learns from them, and ensures not to repeat the same mistakes, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and learning from failures.

What advice does Gary Neville have for new entrepreneurs?

He encourages new entrepreneurs to go for it, step out of their comfort zone, but also to ensure they have some knowledge in the area they are venturing into.

What is Gary Neville's stance on Manchester United's Premier League title record?

He is adamant that he does not want Liverpool to overtake Manchester United's record of being the all-time Premier League winners.

Outlines

00:00

🏨 Hotel Football: A Passion Project

In this segment, the interviewee, Mr. Gary Neville, discusses the inception and success of Hotel Football, a football-themed hotel he developed. Initially, the land was acquired with the idea of a supporters club, but the plan shifted to a hotel after feasibility studies. The hotel, which opened in 2015, has become a significant attraction for football fans worldwide. The branding was designed to appeal to all football fans, not just Manchester United supporters, as the hotel aims to provide a consistent and enjoyable experience. The interview also touches on the opening of the Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester, which is a luxury hotel in a historic building, contrasting with the football theme of Hotel Football.

05:00

🚀 Relentless Drive and Business Ventures

This paragraph delves into Gary Neville's relentless drive and his approach to business. He emphasizes the importance of making choices and taking action in life, attributing his drive to his upbringing, culture, and the influence of his managers at Manchester United. Neville also discusses his involvement in Salford City Football Club, expressing his dissatisfaction with mid-table stability and his ambition to challenge for promotion. He highlights the development of the Peninsula Stadium and the pride he feels in the club's infrastructure. Additionally, Neville talks about his decision to step back from micromanaging his businesses, focusing on strategic thinking and big-picture issues, and his willingness to learn from failures in his entrepreneurial journey.

10:01

🏆 Football Legacy and Future Aspirations

In the final paragraph, Gary Neville reflects on his football career and his aspirations for the future. He expresses his desire to maintain Manchester United's record as the Premier League's most successful club, hoping to prevent Liverpool from surpassing their title count. Neville also discusses his experience at Valencia, acknowledging the challenges of stepping out of his comfort zone into unfamiliar territory. He advises aspiring entrepreneurs to take risks and venture into new areas, especially those they are knowledgeable about, while also being cautious about the risks involved. The conversation concludes with a light-hearted discussion about the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool, with Neville expressing his commitment to his club's legacy.

Keywords

💡Hotel Football

Hotel Football is a football-themed hotel in Manchester, co-owned by Gary Neville. It was initially conceived as a supporters club but evolved into a hotel. The concept is central to the video as it showcases Neville's entrepreneurial spirit and his passion for football, integrating the sport into hospitality.

💡Property Developer

Gary Neville is described as a property developer in the script, indicating his involvement in real estate and the development of properties like Hotel Football. This role is significant as it highlights his diverse talents beyond his football career.

💡Hospitality Tycoon

The term 'hospitality tycoon' refers to Neville's success in the hospitality industry, particularly with Hotel Football. It underscores his business acumen and his ability to create a unique experience for football fans, which is a key theme in the video.

💡Relentless Drive

Relentless drive is a concept that describes Neville's continuous effort and determination in his business ventures. It is a recurring theme in the video, illustrating his approach to business and his refusal to settle for mediocrity, as seen in his various projects and ambitions.

💡Stock Exchange Hotel

The Stock Exchange Hotel is a luxury hotel in Manchester, another venture by Neville. It represents his expansion into different segments of the hospitality industry and his ability to adapt and innovate, showcasing his commitment to excellence in service.

💡Salford City

Salford City is a football club co-owned by Neville. The club's development and Neville's ambitions for it are discussed in the video, highlighting his involvement in football beyond his playing days and his desire to see the club succeed and challenge for promotion.

💡Peninsula Stadium

The Peninsula Stadium is the home ground of Salford City. Mentioned in the script, it symbolizes Neville's investment in the club's infrastructure and his commitment to enhancing the fan experience, which is a key aspect of his business philosophy.

💡Mental Health Support

Neville discusses the importance of mental health support in the video, indicating his plans to implement such systems within his businesses. This shows his concern for the well-being of his staff and his proactive approach to addressing mental health issues.

💡Business Failures

The script mentions Neville's experiences with business failures, such as ventures in food and beverage and sustainable energy. These experiences are valuable as they provide lessons for future success and demonstrate his resilience and ability to learn from setbacks.

💡Comfort Zone

Being out of one's comfort zone is a concept Neville discusses, emphasizing the importance of taking risks and venturing into new areas. It is related to his various business endeavors and his philosophy of growth through challenging oneself.

💡Valencia

Valencia refers to Neville's stint as a football coach at Valencia CF. The script uses this as an example of stepping out of his comfort zone, highlighting the challenges he faced and the lessons learned, which are relevant to his broader narrative of growth and learning.

Highlights

Gary Neville discusses his diverse career as a property developer, hospitality tycoon, and football club co-owner.

Hotel Football was initially conceived as a supporters club but evolved into a football-themed hotel.

The hotel's branding was designed by the team behind Levi's and Wrangler to appeal to all football fans.

Hotel Football is now in its fourth year of trading and has stabilized, offering a consistent and enjoyable product.

The Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester is a luxury hotel located in a historic, Grade II listed building.

Neville's drive and relentless approach to business stem from his upbringing, cultural beliefs, and mentorship.

Neville emphasizes the importance of challenging for promotion in football, reflecting his ambition in business.

The Salford Peninsula Stadium development and club infrastructure have made Neville proud, despite the challenges.

Neville has made a significant change by stepping away from micromanaging, focusing on broader business strategies.

Despite failures in some ventures, Neville believes in learning from mistakes and not repeating them in future endeavors.

Neville's partnership with Peninsula and Keystone is crucial for the success of his businesses, especially in football.

A mental health support system is being implemented in collaboration with Peninsula for the benefit of the football club staff.

Neville advises new entrepreneurs to take risks and step out of their comfort zones, especially in areas they are knowledgeable about.

Reflecting on his time at Valencia, Neville acknowledges the importance of full commitment in coaching and managing roles.

Neville expresses his desire for Manchester United to maintain their record as the most successful Premier League club.

Neville's focus on operational excellence and strategic partnerships is key to his success in various business ventures.

Transcripts

I'm here at hotel football today to talk

business with a man of many talents he's

a property developer a hospitality

tycoon a football club co-owner he also

had a brief spell playing the song with

the charlatans as well as playing better

football earlier in his career and we

were talking about what makes his

business brain tipped and where his

relentless drive comes from

[Music]

so please welcome none other than mr.

Gary Neville Karen Thanks for meeting

with me today sloppy this place hotel

football it's been a huge success since

that opened in 2015 and now big past the

mass growing experience for football

fans across the globe yeah football

themes obvious but why did the idea for

hotel come from I picked up the land

with a fan about six years ago and just

put some money into help initially with

the idea of a supporters club and then

he just didn't work from a you know from

a feasibility point of view so we

basically looked at a hotel scenario and

it it worked and just thought right it's

a hotel and I wanted to be themed around

football I wrote the two words down the

hotel football that was where the name

came from and then we just started to

develop the brand we use the people who

design the brand for Levi's and Wrangler

we wanted to basically appeal to all

football fans we knew that manche united

only played twenty six times a year and

away we went and it's probably now

getting worse a tear today but in its

fourth year of trading and it's

stabilizing for the first year this year

so it's really started to settle down

now it's a good product we know what it

is we got consistency with it and then

know it's enjoyable of course you just

open the stock exchange hotel in

Manchester why go for a luxury hotel for

that one instead it's just completely

different it's right in smack bang in

the city center Manchester and just the

building itself is quite historic it's

great - listed it just lends itself more

towards being you know sort of more a

five-star product this is a great video

on the website where someone talks about

the character the building character the

people there then when you think wider

of Manchester the working be symbol and

you yourself on your social media attack

today are you groups call relentless

where does your drive come from why'd

you have to be doing so much you know I

don't know you have a choice in life dot

you either get up and try and do things

or you don't and I think that's

everybody's choice every single day and

it was bedded in terms of my parents

beliefs my cultures beliefs my managers

belief when I was at United so I'm very

fortunate to have been surrounded by a

lot of people who have shown me the way

and just followed really all the vine

new commitments the sky you keep very

heavy-handed football with soulfully

switch to find it there

it develops a long way you look at the

last season reaching the football league

I've not developed the peninsula Stadium

what's the next step in that for you

know for Salford this year your people

say to me all the time you must be happy

stabilizing in sort of mid-table

positions and I'm not I'm not happy at

all

why should I be happy I think that we've

always challenged for promotion and I

think that we need to challenge

promotion this year and we've got to

somehow engineer a position whereby a

group of players the manager the

coaching staff feel invigorated and

stimulated to go and win six or seven

games because it'll absolutely change

the dynamic of this season and we need

to do that and I'm confident we can do

that and when you look back at the awful

developments over the last year's move

swiftly the ground the way that's

developed the club's infrastructure how

proud are you looking at that though now

got a very impressive 5,000 seat stadium

geosynthetics like everything it's like

just opening the stock exchange hotel or

open in this hotel you never really

because it moves into operational phase

straightaway you open the stadium and

then you play in it and it's just it's

continuous and that's why I suppose in

some ways my favorite word is relentless

because what stops you've got direct

ships and over 30 companies see I've out

need to close them down then close some

companies down McKay she's water where

she's obviously a lot how do you deal

with the headaches there's a lot of red

tape there how to keep on top of

everything's just something I've made a

big decision in the last three weeks

I've come off email and what's up so

that I'm not not necessarily

micromanaging but I'm not seeing the

operational detail every single business

there is no need and it's made it a lot

easier for me to be able to think sort

of differently about the businesses and

think in a different way and start to

think about big things and thinking

about little things so in terms of you

know you still got 30 directorships

I have been stretched over the last six

seven eight years we've got rid of three

or four businesses they failed ideas

that I came up with it didn't work I

don't have a problem with that you know

it happens but as long as you recognise

you know what it is that you that went

wrong in those businesses right

seed and that you don't do it again you

don't make those mistakes again I'm

comfortable with it but I have made a

big change in the last few weeks it's

changed ultimately I think I need to

make I would cede everything on every

single project all the time and it was

just too much

working with Peninsula very closely I'll

see you and Keystone big names in sulfur

and around the area how crucial are they

in helping the businesses in the crucial

because I think that when you do a

partnership with a sponsor Football Club

it's important that isn't just the song

you know badge on the stadium or a badge

on the shirt it has to be more than that

where the meeting with their peninsular

two weeks ago about Salford in terms of

one hatch our support and obviously

professional eyes in the club with you

we're in the Football League for the

first time this year and Prudential

they've done this done that service for

hotel football of GG hospitality now for

a few years and been fantastic and I

think we solve it all so what I wanted

to put in place was a mental health

support system in around the club and we

want to put a sort of a mental health

support in place HR in place also other

things around advice and other areas

that we can sort of help our staff with

I'm working with them in partnership now

to be able to deliver that as a sort of

a constant service for the club over the

next few years but also move it in to

move it into you know our hospitality

business as well which obviously is a

little bit further ahead we have already

got the support from Peninsula on that

side you mentioned before about you've

had a few ventures neat set up and

failed if you've got a coping mechanism

for when things don't completely go

right how'd you deal yeah well the lens

I think all right and a couple of

restaurants that I hadn't allright with

a business that went in sustainable

energy they didn't go right and they've

all failed for different reasons some

through like a planning some through

lack of experience and knowledge of a

sector or an industry actually blends

doing that and I do reflect upon them

that that they actually you learn more

from them than you do the ones that have

been successful because they give you

the last you know they give you the

lessons you make better decisions moving

forward you're harder with the decision

make you moving forward I think you take

less on once you fail two or three times

you're a bit more wary and careful about

what you take on

how you take things on we've said us you

one big bit of advice for any building

business entrepreneurs out there I would

say for a new entrepreneur who's

thinking of going into it you must go

for it you know if you're in a business

and you're a director and you feel like

you've got the ability to set up your

own company you should go for it you

should definitely fly sometimes that

involves point yourself like your

comfort zone and yet you said often

Valencia that you're actually proud of

that because you're trying something new

what is it about being asking you

comfort zone that you perhaps enjoyed or

that you've looked forward to

I think being out your comfort zone

there's two different there's two things

about being out your comfort zone one

thing is being out your comfort zone in

an area that you know and then there's

been out with comfort zone in an area

that you don't know so for instance

going into food and beverage and

nightclubs which I did for two or three

times was madness really because I

didn't know it whereas if you're going

to say for instance sky which is out my

comfort zone the first day Monday Night

Football at least I know football so

you've the idea of taking a risk you're

people remember at the time when I went

to Sky would say it's ridiculous this

guy can employ this dyed-in-the-wool

munch United fan it was everywhere it's

a disgrace how's this gonna happen how's

it going to commentate on Liverpool on

City and I wasn't gonna not be biased

for manchester united all those things

came out but that was it was a risk but

I took it well as regards to Valencia it

was an area that I knew if I

underestimated it underestimated it and

I didn't have the I'm not thought of

coaching and managing every single day

which I think you need to do such a

difficult job coaching and managing and

I didn't do it and I was doing business

I was doing media I was doing different

projects and I think to be a football

manager you need to be a hundred percent

committed just like if I was one in a

hotel I don't run a hotel I own the

hotel but we have a real good team that

work underneath and I think at Valencia

that's why I'm more suit is being an

older a football club I think than and

more suited to being on a football coach

or a manager so but you should go out

your comfort zone if you can but make

sure it's in the area that you've got

some knowledge in funny enough you

mention that because just finally dial M

before you live Paul become all-time

record Premier League winners never to

be beaten or Jamie Carragher

come sulfur city's long term owner of

place in the class of mines to which

would you trust character on the club

now I'll just need to run the bath it's

what you say the Liverpool are gonna win

21 titles novotel United all-time record

Premier League winners never to be

beaten or Jaime carries characters got a

limited time in charge of Salford like a

year I give him a year he couldn't do

that much damage in a year no I don't

want Liverpool 12 Tate United I mean

they think of the word that went on for

all those years at United to overtake it

feels incredible hall the trophies in

the Premier League domestic titles no I

don't want them to overtake we've got a

little bit of a cushion I think they

could win it this year and get to 19 but

hopefully we'll book up and others will

book up and stop when the hereafter and

we'll get back to where we want to be

but no I'd let career of hold us all for

three year before I think I've like

little overtake the United

you