QPR go into administration

Queen's Park Rangers went into administration last night after the struggling First Division club's parent company announced its losses are running at £575,000 a month. "This decision [to put QPR into administration] has not been taken lightly and is a direct result of the losses incurred by the group," a statement from Loftus Road plc, which also owns Wasps rugby club, said last night.

Queen's Park Rangers went into administration last night after the struggling First Division club's parent company announced its losses are running at £575,000 a month. "This decision [to put QPR into administration] has not been taken lightly and is a direct result of the losses incurred by the group," a statement from Loftus Road plc, which also owns Wasps rugby club, said last night.

Wasps have not been put in administration because a takeover by an unnamed buyer is understood to be imminent. It has been reported that a former director of QPR, Andrew Ellis, is considering a takeover of the football club but negotiations are understood to be in their infancy.

Chris Wright, who stepped down as QPR chairman earlier this year, seems destined to lose the majority of the £20m investment he has put into the football club. He said last night, however, that he would continue to fund both QPR and Wasps until October or until buyers for them are found, whichever comes sooner. "Hopefully the day-to-day impact on the operation of QPR and Wasps as professional sports teams will be negligible, at least in the short term, and will in fact make the longer term more viable," he said.