Tony Fernandes axes Gianni Paladini on his first day in charge

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Fernandes moved swiftly after his company, Tune Group, took on a 66 per cent stake in QPR buying out previous majority shareholders Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone.

Paladini, who sold his stake in the club in 2007, is disappointed by the move but it is believed the 65-year-old feels he has reached an age where he is happy to free himself from the stress of helping to run the club.

In 2005, Paladini was held up at gunpoint at Loftus Road shortly before a home game but seven men were later cleared of charges of conspiracy to blackmail, false imprisonment and gun possession.

Paladini has bought two seats in the directors' box and is expected to attend QPR's home games regularly as a fan.

Paladini has enjoyed a close working relationship with Neil Warnock but the manager has warmly welcomed the arrival of Fernandes, with the deal also seeing Amit Bhatia rejoin the board, three months after he quit.

QPR were hammered 4-0 by Bolton on the opening day of the Premier League season but Warnock now hopes to strengthen his squad before the transfer window closes on August 31.

"It is so exciting," he said. "It is going to be hard work because we need to find the right players and do our business in a short space of time, but this will give us a fighting chance.

"To have Amit back on board is great because he is the reason I joined the club as manager in the first place.

"Tony and Amit have got the same vision and it is not short-term - it is long term but this is the best thing regarding the fans and I am sure they will be delighted.

"Tony and Amit know that I'm looking to bring a number of players in and they will do all in their power to get my targets. We have a number of transfer targets in every position and we are looking to strengthen. I have backups in place in case we can't get my first choice. The most important thing is to get the right players in by the end of the window."

Fernandes, the founder of AirAsia and boss of Team Lotus, has high hopes for his new club and said: "QPR are a raw diamond and hopefully I can contribute into turning them into a diamond. I am thoroughly impressed with Warnock's passion and enthusiasm."