MB first put money into the club in 2006 and while he didn't purchase outright ownership until 2012, I'm pretty sure that was only because the club was fan-owned and he was never going to mount a "hostile" takeover before they were ready. Meanwhile, without his support in the interim, the club would almost certainly have folded.
"Looking from the outside" indeed.
Imagine I told you I was building a house. A year later we meet, you ask me whether I've moved in yet and when I say "No", so you assume I was never serious about building one in the first place.
Never mind that I've dug the foundations, added the walls and roof and installed all the essential services etc, with the only reason I've not actually moved in being because the interiors need finishing, the kitchen installing and I'm waiting on furniture etc.
Which is where BFC are. Looking solely at the league table, you might imagine we've not made any progress. But each season, we've got stronger as a club in every respect. And if the finishing touches (i.e. the team on the pitch) aren't quite there yet, that's only because MB refuses to gamble against FFP in a dash for promotion.
But as with the new stadium - and you have no idea just how complex that was - everything about MB's involvement is long term, so that if/when we should go up, you can be sure we'll be giving ourselves the best possible chance of staying there, rather than eg "doing a QPR".
I don't mean to be rude, but that is so far off the mark as to be comical.
"It is important to emphasise that Benham is not that stereotypical football club owner who uses the side’s finances and heritage as his personal plaything but rather a lifelong fan. Attending his first Brentford game as an 11-year-old in 1979 against Colchester, Benham has shared an affinity with the Bees for 32 years."
atthematch.com
His investment to date is now around the £100m mark, with no guarantee he'll get any of it back (though he'd be unlucky to lose it all).
And although he doesn't talk about himself much, he has revealed that he hopes to pass the club on to his young son when his own involvement comes to an end.