Business Life How's business?
Sir Terry Matthews Pretty good, really, despite the recession. The whole world of mobile data is growing at a ferocious rate and I'm very much involved in that with quite a few companies. But I'm concerned about Europe and the United States.
BL In what way?
TM Global business is changing dramatically. Economic growth is substantially in the hands of Asians now, and the salaries of people in Asia are less than one tenth of those in Europe and North America. And you can't lift them. You can take a country like South Korea and over a period of 20 or 30 years lift salaries up to the level of European and North American salaries, but you can't do that with India or China because they are simply too big. You can't give 1.3 billion people the salaries of North America. So the important thing is to remember the words of Darwin. It isn't the biggest or the strongest that survive. It's those best able to adapt. Because it's not going away. Anything we've seen in the last ten or 15 years, which is economic difficulties, monster importation of Chinese goods and Indian subcontracting of engineering, it's only the beginning. This is the tip of the iceberg.
BL When did you first think you could host the Ryder Cup?
TM It goes back to the 1980s, when I first became friends with Robert Trent Jones Sr, who was one of the most famous golf course designers in the world. He designed the first course at Celtic Manor and it was his idea to build a third course here in the valley, although I didn't own the land then — it's now the Twenty Ten course. He introduced me to the PGA people in America and the European Tour people and over many meetings I got to know the players and the senior officials. I started to believe I could run a Ryder Cup here.
BL How difficult was it to persuade the US PGA and the European Tour to bring the Ryder Cup to Celtic Manor?
TM They made the decision on the basis of a tender and I think they did it in a very professional manner. Ladbrokes said we had a two per cent chance of winning, but at the end of the day I simply made the best submission. In life there can only be one winner.
BL What motivated you? Was it just money?
TM Well, I'm a capitalist. If something wasn't profitable, I wouldn't do it. I don't really need to build up my image like an actor, I've never taken joy out of that. The things I like relate to building up businesses and making them successful. And having fun doing it.
BL What's your total investment in terms of the Ryder Cup?
TM It would be in the order of $50 to $60m, something like that.
BL What's the business model, bearing in mind you don't actually make money from the event?
TM That's right, it's actually a European Tour event. What I get is recognition that Celtic Manor is the venue — and by the way we have great golf facilities, because without those you don't hold the Ryder Cup! And that makes it a magnet for people to come here and play golf, so it makes the Celtic Manor business successful.
BL So it's brilliant marketing for you.
TM At the end of the day, there is no finer marketing. You can't hold World Cup soccer here, and an Olympics will probably never come to Wales, so this is probably the best you could possibly do to bring in a world event.
BL Is there a patriotic aspect?
TM Oh, certainly. I was born in the Manor House here and I was brought up in Wales. But I wouldn't go too far down that track. I mean, if it's not profitable, why would you do anything? But Wales is getting a lot out of it because it gets this worldwide recognition. The city of Newport gets a lot of recognition, Celtic Manor gets a lot of recognition. What I get out of it is a more successful business.
BL How personally involved have you been in the preparation for the Ryder Cup?
TM A lot. I'm very hands on. And it's been very difficult in some respects. As an example, 2,000 years ago, this was a very active Roman area, and during construction of the Twenty Ten course we were continually discovering Roman remains — a cemetery, villas, an ironworks where they made swords, a pottery works. That delayed things. Wildlife was another issue. Throughout the course there are large pipes to accommodate the spotted toads. It's like a toad highway network that allows them to go to the river from ponds on the site.
BL What are the personal qualities you've brought to the project?
TM Firstly, persistence. For me, this has been a long-term project. The other quality is team leadership. Any organisation's only as good as the team, but the team very much follows the style of the leader. I have good communication skills. I'm not a dictator.
BL Will Europe win the Ryder Cup?
TM That's up to the leader and the team that he creates. And the good news about Colin Montgomerie is that he's a good team leader. He creates enthusiasm and he's passionate about the game of golf. I think he's a very good captain.
BL You're 67 now. Any thoughts of retirement?
TM What do you do when you retire? You get a hobby. But starting companies up is my hobby. So it's unlikely to stop.
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