Dean Hoyle formally takes over Huddersfield Town - exclusive interview
Jun 1 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner
HE’S beating the credit crunch to maintain the growth of his hugely successful company Card Factory.
And now Dean Hoyle is aiming to lead Huddersfield Town up the Football League.
The Spen Valley businessman today realised every fan’s dream when he officially took control of the club he’s supported since childhood.
But while there’s no doubting the colour of the blood that flows through his veins, he is certainly not looking at his investment through blue and white tinted spectacles.
The 41-year-old, who has replaced Ken Davy as Town chairman, accepts that he will have to bankroll the 101-year-old club, with annual losses on the cards for the foreseeable future, but insists it will be done in a sensible and controlled way.
He is applying the same hard-headed principles to the club as he has to his greetings cards firm, which has flourished while rivals Card Warehouse and Birthdays have both gone into administration.
“I establish a good management team, a way of working and a plan of what I want to do – then I delegate,” explains Hoyle, the founder and managing director of Wakefield-based Card Factory, which is due to add to its 400-plus stores and 5,000-plus staff with the opening of 40 more shops between now and Christmas.
“Despite the economic climate, Card Factory trade is better than ever. People are more conscious of costs and value for money, and because of our position in the price range, we are capturing business that is leaving the more expensive part of the market. We are expanding while our competitors are finding trading tough.”
While Card Factory are very firmly in the black, Hoyle accepts he will have to absorb football club losses for some time to come.
“While I run Town and Card Factory the same way, there is one major difference between the two.
“In a commercial business, you have total control of the product. In football, you have far less control and as soon as the players go over the whitewash it is down to them.
“Performances on the pitch cannot be guaranteed, no matter how much you spend or how hard you work!
“In terms of financing the club, I knew money would need to be invested after I bought into it.
“After taking into account all the club’s running costs, the only way to balance the books, even with an average crowd of 11,000 (which Town could expect next season), would be to have a wage bill of around £1m, but then it would be very hard to assemble a squad capable of winning promotion.
