Businessman prepares to live the dream by backing his beloved Hibs

Published on Thursday 26 March 2009 08:58

HE'S a lifelong Hibs fan, a season ticket holder at Easter Road. So is his mum. His brother is a scout with the club, his nephew trains with the Under-10 side, his daughter has been a mascot and an aunt works in the boardroom.

Add all that to the fact Scott Fraser has become a highly- successful businessman in Edinburgh, co-founder of a property investment company with a turnover and fee income of more than 16 million and you'd think the 45-year-old would have jumped at the chance for McEwan Fraser to become Hibs' new sponsors.

However, it took his co-directors Ken McEwan and Neil Morgan almost three months to convince Fraser that backing Hibs over the next two years was the right move to raise the profile of their burgeoning business.

The deal was finally struck a few months ago, with the name of McEwan Fraser due to replace that of whisky giants Whyte and Mackay on the front of the players' shirts from the start of next season until 2011. But such was the secrecy surrounding the move, Fraser didn't even tell his mum Pat of his plans until only hours before they were unveiled.

And the 14 staff of McEwan Fraser had to wait even longer, arriving at Easter Road believing they were to have a lunch to mark the launch of the company's new website only to find themselves the focus of attention.

Today, Fraser revealed the sponsorship deal had, in fact, come about by a chance conversation in which he was told such an opportunity may arise and perhaps one of his clients may be interested in backing Hibs.

Taking up the tale, he said: "I told Ken and Neil and asked them if they could think of anyone and the reply was 'why not us?'

"My whole family are Leith-born and bred, I'm a season ticket holder sitting in the Famous Five Stand as are my mum and my brother Keith, who has recently become a youth scout with Hibs, while my nephew David trains with the Under-10s, my daughter Cherie, who now works for the company has been a mascot, and my Auntie Margaret works in the boardroom on match days.

"A lot of people will look on this deal and say I've let my heart rule my head and it was for that very reason I was initially against it when the opportunity first arose. We three directors wrestled with the pros and cons over two or three months before arriving at our final decision.

"I have to say that of the three of us I was probably the one which needed the most convincing because the club are so close to me, but dealing with Scott Lindsay (Hibs' chief executive] and Fife Hyland (commercial director] was a pleasure, very professional and everything I perceived about what goes on behind the scenes at Easter Road. It was a big decision for us but it was purely a business decision. We feel the opportunity of sponsoring a club like Hibs and the benefits offered don't come along very often." Established in 2003, McEwan Fraser has grown rapidly across the Central Belt and is seen as the market leader in sourcing "off market" properties, but Fraser, who made nine first-team appearances for Rangers between 1983 and 1985 before going on to play for East Fife, Berwick Rangers, Cowdenbeath and in Australia, believes the tie-up with Hibs will raise the company's profile immensely.

He said: "The main benefit will be raising the brand awareness. We have enjoyed pretty rapid growth in our first six years of business but that's been very much with private clients.

"We see the market changing and opportunities arising with the traditional methods of conveyancing, buying and selling of properties having perhaps changed forever."

While both McEwan Fraser and Hibs were unwilling to disclose the exact amount involved in the sponsorship deal, it was said to be in line with that of previous backers so, given that Whyte and Mackay's five-year contract was worth 1 million, it has to be assumed the Easter Road club will benefit by around 400,000.

And that, said chief executive Lindsay, was a great piece of business for the club at a time when sponsorship money is quickly drying up in the face of the recession.

He said: "We've known for a few months this deal was going to happen but I think we have to be very pleased. Even just to find a new sponsor in the current market is an achievement and we are particularly pleased to have found one at an equivalent level to the level we had under previous deals.

"I'm not sure of the position of other football clubs but, if you look round other industries and sports, it's a difficult market in terms of sponsorship so we are just delighted to have secured a deal for the immediate future. It's a fantastic deal for the club in what is a very challenging time for all business, not just Scottish football."