The Malaysian airline entrepreneur Tony Fernandes is the new majority owner of Queens Park Rangers having bought the whole of Bernie Ecclestone's 66% stake in the club for around £35m.

The price is understood to equal the total which Ecclestone and his fellow investor Flavio Briatore have paid into QPR, in shares and loans, since they took over the club in 2007, and does not amount to a huge profit for the Formula One personalities.

"I've always wanted to be involved in football and the appeal of a London club like QPR was too good an opportunity to turn down," Fernandes said.

"QPR is a raw diamond and hopefully I can contribute into turning it into a diamond. I want the fans to be proud of what we're doing and be involved as much as we can."

The new owner does not, however, intend to bankroll the club with his own millions every year, but instead believes that on the Premier League's vast TV income, it can grow within its means if run sensibly and with a strong youth policy.

Daily Mail

Tony Fernandes has completed his takeover of Queens Park Rangers.

Fernandes, who is thought to have £10million to invest in the club, said: 'I lived in Uxbridge Road for many years and grew up around the area.

'Everyone knows I've followed West Ham all my life, but I've always had a soft spot for QPR.

'Rangers were one of the first teams I watched as a child at Loftus Road.

'The opportunity to get involved with the club was mentioned to me by the previous owners and here I am.

'I've always wanted to be involved in football and the appeal of a London Club, like QPR, was too good an opportunity to turn down.

'It's funny how life has a way of spinning things round. It goes full circle sometimes.

'QPR is a raw diamond and hopefully I can contribute into turning it into a diamond.'

Fernandes added: 'I have ambitions in the long term.

'I could easily say we're going to win the Champions League and the Premier League, but that's really not my style. I don't want to make big promises I can't guarantee.

'I want the fans to be proud of what we're doing and be involved as much as we can. The fans pay good money and are stakeholders, so whatever we do, I want the fans to be proud. We'll do it in style and with integrity.'

Telegraph

Fresh from sealing the takeover of the west London club, new QPR owner Tony Fernandes says he will give manager Neil Warnock "all that he requires" in a bid to keep the side in the Premier League.

Fernandes, 47, owner of the Team Lotus Formula One outfit and low-cost airline AirAsia, struck a deal to buy the promoted London club in the early hours of Thursday, buying out majority shareholder Bernie Ecclestone and former Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore.

The Malaysian tycoon, an acknowledged West Ham fan, said he realised QPR were an "unpolished diamond" but promised much needed funds for current boss Neil Warnock to spend before the transfer deadline.

Questions over QPR's ownership and the future of Warnock, who arrived at the club in March 2010, had overshadowed the build-up to their first season in the top flight since 1996 and they made the worst possible start to life in the Premier League with a 4-0 drubbing at home to Bolton last Saturday.

However, to the inner delight of the veteran manager, who was sat beside his new boss at Thursday's press conference, Fernandes said that although he had only got to know Warnock in the last few weeks as the takeover deal had taken shape, he had already been impressed by his "passion".