PIGEON TYCOON

andrew · April 29, 2007

PIGEON TYCOON

HOMING BIRDS MAKE DEREK RICH

By Damien Fletcher 28/04/2007

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HE wears a Rolex watch, drives flash cars and is always surrounded by birds. Meet high-flier Derek Nichols - the P Diddy of the pigeon-racing world.

Bright and savvy, Derek is fast transforming the image of a sport that's more used to having Corrie's Jack Duckworth as its poster boy.

"The days of pigeon fancying as a mere hobby are coming to an end," says 48-year-old Derek, who breeds and trains the racing birds.

"Now there's serious money to be made and it's becoming a professional sport, so the future's looking bright." It's no wonder that Derek, from Barry in South Wales, sounds so chirpy - he's making a mint and has the lifestyle to prove it.

He drives a brand new Mercedes Jeep with a personalised number plate that reads COO5 PAY. And he's spent £52,000 on a Lexus convertible for his wife Andrea - number plate DOO4 HER.

"Doo is an old Celtic word which means pigeon, so it seemed appropriate," explains Derek.

He has feathered his nest by auctioning off specially-bred pigeons for tens of thousands of pounds, by entering his 1,700 pigeons - worth over £300,000 - into international competitions with six-figure prizes and also by training pigeons for a cut of their owners' winnings.

His expertise with his feathered friends has proven such a moneyspinner that he quit his job as a builder seven years ago to concentrate on it full-time.

"My annual turnover is £250,000 - it's amazing to make good money out of something you love," he says. "It's like professional horse-racing now. People buy pigeons and I train them, along with breeding my own.

"Last year one of my pigeons came second in the Million Dollar Pigeon Race in South Africa which earned me £120,000. The most I've sold a pigeon for is £12,000 to a Taiwanese man - they're crazy about pigeons."

When it comes to spending his thousands, Derek puts his family first. He recently paid for his 25-year-old daughter Rene's wedding.

"Yes, I've splashed out on Rolex watches and the car, and recently 12 acres of land to build a new pigeon loft. But it's my family that matter most," he explains. "I paid for Rene's wedding - but I can't tell you how much or my wife will kill me."

Andrea, a 45-year-old carer, admits that pigeons have been part of their life ever since they met. "We were childhood sweethearts and when I caught his eye as a teenager his chatup line was: 'Hello missus, do you want to see my pigeons?'" she laughs.

"I said yes and we've been together ever since. And, yes, he's made good money but it's all through hard work. He works with his pigeons 12 hours a day, seven days a week."

Derek's fascination with birds goes back to his childhood. He says: "My grandfather Hayward was a keen pigeon-fancier. Some of my earliest, happiest childhood memories are of visiting him at his house 40 miles away in Pontypool and looking at his pigeons.

"He'd tell me stories about where they'd come from because they were from all over the world and I was fascinated."

At the age of 12, he got his first loft-racing pigeon, but it was another two years before he was allowed to join the local pigeon racing club. "They wouldn't accept I was really into it at first," says Derek. "So I did three paper rounds to save up enough to pay for a whole year's membership up front, then they let me join.

"My dad said it was a waste of time - if he'd known that now I could make £20,000 a day from racing them, he might have encouraged me!"

But Derek's not the only one to have wised up to the money to be made from pigeon-racing and he faces some stiff competition for the big prizes.

Richard Elliott, 42, from Plymouth is also typical of the new generation of pigeon-fanciers - he appears alongside Derek in a new documentary about the pastime to be aired on BBC2 on Monday night.

He's been in the game for 15 years but buys his birds rather than breeding them himself. "Winning the biggest prize is what matters," says Richard. "I want to be a big fish in a big pond and you can only do that by coming first. So I have to source the best pigeons I can find.

"I've yet to make a profit from it, but it's only a matter of time and investment."

He's so ruthless in his determination to succeed, that he won't put up with any chicken-hearted birds.

"You can't mess around if you want to win," he insists. "They've got to fly for up to 12 hours so they need to have good hearts. And if some of my pigeons aren't good enough I release them into the wild.

"You've got to get your pigeons to love you. I love them and they love me. Once you've cracked that they'll win the big races for you."

Unsurprisingly, his exasperated wife Tina has a lot to put up with.

"I wouldn't say he's obsessed, but let's just say he dreams about pigeons," she sighs. "It used to annoy me when he'd come home from work and go straight to the garden to see the pigeons before saying hello. But you get used to it."

Even the older generation of fanciers are fast realising that pigeons can mean piles of cash.

"In the past there was no money to be made from it," says 70-year-old Eddie Thompson from Dagenham, Essex, who has been racing pigeons for 50 years.

"You did it because you loved it. But now these international competitions in South Africa and Las Vegas are attracting hundreds of people because of the big prizes.

"The races in Wales and Scotland pay out up to £30,000. But the real advantage of being one of the best in a race is that it makes your pigeon valuable as an international racer, so you could sell it for a fortune.

"My ambition is to breed a world beating pigeon so I can win that million dollar race. That would be one hell of a pension."

source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_method=full%26objectid=18979191%26siteid=89520-name_page.html

April 29, 2007

To win big money, somebody must lose big money. Simple as that! What's the game coming to? : : : Vic.

April 29, 2007

this is what the sports coming to makes me sick

gangster · April 29, 2007

WOW !!!! BIG TIME CHARLIE YOU ARE DERK........... PLENTY OF GHOSTS OWNING GOOD PIGEONS...... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

April 30, 2007

I have learnt that in this game there are two types of fancier. The first that is in for the love of the sport, the second that is in for what they can make from it.

To be honest the article does nothing to promote the sport

Roland · April 30, 2007

To win big money, somebody must lose big money. Simple as that! What's the game coming to? : : : Vic.

Agree Vic... and us Plebs have bolstered the coffers for the 'Well Off's' and will continue to do so... by their 'Hook or Crook'.

jimmy white · April 30, 2007

one thing for sure,, youll never be a millionaire racing pigeons ;D ;D ;D

Dougie · April 30, 2007

one thing for sure,, youll never be a millionaire racing pigeons ;D ;D ;D

But you can be selling them obvisiouly.lol

jimmy white · April 30, 2007

excactly what i mean ,,dougie

April 30, 2007

........ and to think, the fat cat (Paul Smith) is making at least twice as much!

gangster · April 30, 2007

well im watching it now!!!!!!!!! bigtime charlies.....................

pigeonpete · May 1, 2007

one thing for sure,, youll never be a millionaire racing pigeons ;D ;D ;D

how did you make your millions then jimmy?? ;D ;D ;D

Ronnie · May 1, 2007

As i see it they only sell to people who buy .if you dont want them dont buy them.

As for rocognition i think this will be great for the sport more people will see a chance of making money and have a go at pigeon racing .Out of the ones who try it some will turn out to be genuine fanciers.Yes some will be bad but if it attracts 10 new fanciers then its worth it in my eye's.Imagine there could be a few new George buscharts emerging Millionaires who just want to buy winners.Now imagine if you own one of them winners and you are approached what would your answer be to ten grand for the old check cock who has won the national and got ten first fed cards.

gangster · May 1, 2007

i found some of it ok but some was pure tripe ..............

RoryTheRed · May 1, 2007

What annoyed me was the getting away from the northern fancier type and showing an old eccentric would didn't seem to have his marbles. Lets show the new breed who are budding businessmen who will surely start getting the taxman looking into any pigeon fanciers sales from now on.

Do any of you who sell pigeons report your sales to HMG?

May 1, 2007

Do any of you who sell pigeons report your sales to HMG?

I'd be interested to hear the answers to this, from a business point of view. Everything I sell 17.5% of it has to go to the HMR&C. I know of at least one stud who runs it as a business and he has to do the same. I sell on eBay and I make sure I do it all legit. Every sale I make the same applys to that 17.5% has to go. So thats where sometimes you find it had to compete on prices, if I knocked the 17.5% off and didn't declare it then I could be the cheapest on there. But hey ho, thats life I suppose.