Potential New Owners

[Sutekh]

Wigan's owner when all the non-payment of wages were happening was someone called Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi while Talal Mubarek Al-Hammad was simply installed as chairman therefore, so long as Al-Jasmi isn't involved, there might be no issues in any takeover but given the previous record at Wigan I would expect the FL to be very "granular" with any approval process involving someone from that regime.

[RG30]

Reading are set to complete a £50 million sale to William Storey, the British businessman and former Formula One team backer.

The Telegraph understands that terms on the deal were broadly agreed on Wednesday following negotiations between Storey and Dai Yongge, the Chinese owner of the troubled League One club.

Storey, who has recently failed with takeover bids for Sunderland and Coventry City, has pledged to clear club debt in a deal understood to be worth around £50 million and which includes the stadium and the state-of-the-art Bearwood Park training ground.

The 45-year-old is also said to have promised privately to invest in the playing staff once a transfer embargo is lifted.

Storey is understood to have bought the club outright, albeit having sourced some of the funding from wealthy backers. He will now be subject to the Football League’s test for fit and proper owners, which will be vigorous due to new regulations.

It is hoped that this process will take about six weeks, though the new ownership team were planning to begin work this week nonetheless.

Storey is said to have met Ruben Selles, the Reading manager, but otherwise has kept a low profile during negotiations in recent weeks as interested parties circled the club.

The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Yongge had rejected an offer from Genevra Associates, an investment group with offices in Luxembourg and the United States.

In 2019, Storey was the title sponsor of the Haas F1 team through his drink brand Rich Energy, though the relationship proved acrimonious and short-lived, with Storey leaving the sport before the following season.

From Richmond, south-west London, he has also worked in boxing and has been looking to invest in a Football League club for some time.

He has agreed to purchase at a low point in the club’s recent history, with Reading third from bottom in League One having been relegated last season following a troubled campaign on and off the pitch.

They went down from the Championship as the result of a six-point penalty for breaching the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules.

The HMRC then served them with a winding-up petition in June over unpaid taxes and the club remains under a transfer embargo imposed as a result of their financial problems.

Fans who had been campaigning for Yongge to sell up will now hope that Storey can restore the fortunes of a club who were in the Premier League as recently as 2013.

Via The Telegraph’s John Percy

[tidus_mi2]

Reading are set to complete a £50 million sale to William Storey, the British businessman and former Formula One team backer.

The Telegraph understands that terms on the deal were broadly agreed on Wednesday following negotiations between Storey and Dai Yongge, the Chinese owner of the troubled League One club.

Storey, who has recently failed with takeover bids for Sunderland and Coventry City, has pledged to clear club debt in a deal understood to be worth around £50 million and which includes the stadium and the state-of-the-art Bearwood Park training ground.

The 45-year-old is also said to have promised privately to invest in the playing staff once a transfer embargo is lifted.

Storey is understood to have bought the club outright, albeit having sourced some of the funding from wealthy backers. He will now be subject to the Football League’s test for fit and proper owners, which will be vigorous due to new regulations.

It is hoped that this process will take about six weeks, though the new ownership team were planning to begin work this week nonetheless.

Storey is said to have met Ruben Selles, the Reading manager, but otherwise has kept a low profile during negotiations in recent weeks as interested parties circled the club.

The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Yongge had rejected an offer from Genevra Associates, an investment group with offices in Luxembourg and the United States.

In 2019, Storey was the title sponsor of the Haas F1 team through his drink brand Rich Energy, though the relationship proved acrimonious and short-lived, with Storey leaving the sport before the following season.

From Richmond, south-west London, he has also worked in boxing and has been looking to invest in a Football League club for some time.

He has agreed to purchase at a low point in the club’s recent history, with Reading third from bottom in League One having been relegated last season following a troubled campaign on and off the pitch.

They went down from the Championship as the result of a six-point penalty for breaching the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules.

The HMRC then served them with a winding-up petition in June over unpaid taxes and the club remains under a transfer embargo imposed as a result of their financial problems.

Fans who had been campaigning for Yongge to sell up will now hope that Storey can restore the fortunes of a club who were in the Premier League as recently as 2013.

Via The Telegraph’s John Percy

oxf*rd hell, really don't like the look of this guy at all.

[leon]

Reading are set to complete a £50 million sale to William Storey, the British businessman and former Formula One team backer.

The Telegraph understands that terms on the deal were broadly agreed on Wednesday following negotiations between Storey and Dai Yongge, the Chinese owner of the troubled League One club.

Storey, who has recently failed with takeover bids for Sunderland and Coventry City, has pledged to clear club debt in a deal understood to be worth around £50 million and which includes the stadium and the state-of-the-art Bearwood Park training ground.

The 45-year-old is also said to have promised privately to invest in the playing staff once a transfer embargo is lifted.

Storey is understood to have bought the club outright, albeit having sourced some of the funding from wealthy backers. He will now be subject to the Football League’s test for fit and proper owners, which will be vigorous due to new regulations.

It is hoped that this process will take about six weeks, though the new ownership team were planning to begin work this week nonetheless.

Storey is said to have met Ruben Selles, the Reading manager, but otherwise has kept a low profile during negotiations in recent weeks as interested parties circled the club.

The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Yongge had rejected an offer from Genevra Associates, an investment group with offices in Luxembourg and the United States.

In 2019, Storey was the title sponsor of the Haas F1 team through his drink brand Rich Energy, though the relationship proved acrimonious and short-lived, with Storey leaving the sport before the following season.

From Richmond, south-west London, he has also worked in boxing and has been looking to invest in a Football League club for some time.

He has agreed to purchase at a low point in the club’s recent history, with Reading third from bottom in League One having been relegated last season following a troubled campaign on and off the pitch.

They went down from the Championship as the result of a six-point penalty for breaching the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules.

The HMRC then served them with a winding-up petition in June over unpaid taxes and the club remains under a transfer embargo imposed as a result of their financial problems.

Fans who had been campaigning for Yongge to sell up will now hope that Storey can restore the fortunes of a club who were in the Premier League as recently as 2013.

Via The Telegraph’s John Percy

No. Not that cnut.

[Snowflake Royal]

Well, one of the least good options available.

He's been pushing this for a while and is known to be full of it, which given disclosure rules, I tend to think he's conned the journo.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Yeh, still not buying this.

[WestYorksRoyal]

We do seem to be attracting the vultures. Earlier in the week it was allegedly a potential buyer with links to the team that screwed Wigan. Now this. Hopefully the EFL can do their job. From what we know, we're all team Red Bird aren't we?

[Brogue]

We do seem to be attracting the vultures. Earlier in the week it was allegedly a potential buyer with links to the team that screwed Wigan. Now this. Hopefully the EFL can do their job. From what we know, we're all team Red Bird aren't we?

Red bird are supposedly the consortium with the funds behind storey….

[WestYorksRoyal]

We do seem to be attracting the vultures. Earlier in the week it was allegedly a potential buyer with links to the team that screwed Wigan. Now this. Hopefully the EFL can do their job. From what we know, we're all team Red Bird aren't we?

Red bird are supposedly the consortium with the funds behind storey….

Where did you hear that? Would be nuts; they seem fairly credible so why would you appoint a clown as your figure head?

[Brogue]

We do seem to be attracting the vultures. Earlier in the week it was allegedly a potential buyer with links to the team that screwed Wigan. Now this. Hopefully the EFL can do their job. From what we know, we're all team Red Bird aren't we?

Red bird are supposedly the consortium with the funds behind storey….

Where did you hear that? Would be nuts; they seem fairly credible so why would you appoint a clown as your figure head?

I don’t reveal my sources. But you have it on good authority

[Hound]

We do seem to be attracting the vultures. Earlier in the week it was allegedly a potential buyer with links to the team that screwed Wigan. Now this. Hopefully the EFL can do their job. From what we know, we're all team Red Bird aren't we?

Red bird are supposedly the consortium with the funds behind storey….

Where did you hear that? Would be nuts; they seem fairly credible so why would you appoint a clown as your figure head?

Yeah that

[WestYorksRoyal]

Maybe we should relax. Looking into his record, he has been a director of several companies who have been liquidated which is enough to fail the EFL checks, plus we all know he doesn't have £50m.

So it will fall through unless he has a small stake below the EFL's threshold. In which case, the important question is who is actually providing the money.

[Who Moved The Goalposts?]

...so why would you appoint a clown as your figure head?

Seems to be a thing - political parties have made it the norm!

[Sutekh]

Yeh, still not buying this.

No but Storey is fronting something that is.....

[WestYorksRoyal]

Yeh, still not buying this.

No but Storey is fronting something that is.....

I've seen a few Twitter accounts I've never heard of reporting this, plus Brogue. Still hard to make sense of. If you were Red Bird or another reputable buyer, why would you go through Storey? How does he know Dai? Is it because Dai only deals with other crooks?

I can see what's in it for him. A lot of publicity. But I question the judgement of any buyer who thinks going through Storey is a good idea.

[Sutekh]

Yeh, still not buying this.

No but Storey is fronting something that is.....

I've seen a few Twitter accounts I've never heard of reporting this, plus Brogue. Still hard to make sense of. If you were Red Bird or another reputable buyer, why would you go through Storey? How does he know Dai? Is it because Dai only deals with other crooks?

I can see what's in it for him. A lot of publicity. But I question the judgement of any buyer who thinks going through Storey is a good idea.

Which is why I thought things like this now wouldn't be revealed until after the FL had completed its checks. We down here in "mug punter land" know absolutely diddly squat about what actually has been agreed, who the interested parties are and how it will work together and certainly nothing about the money side. All we know is stuff in the "ever so reliable" media about what any proposed owner may or may not have done in the past. Because someone has a bit of a "chequered" past doesn't necessarily mean they are crooked or an asset stripper, all this stuff should be what the FL has to investigate and report on and he and/or any other parties will need to provide proof of funds (not just for the initial purchase but I believe also to cover the annual operating costs) as well as being checked out for any untoward naughties which may disqualify them in the FL's eyes.

As we mug punters know naff all then doing anything other than asking for any legitimate concerns to be raised and addressed publically is pretty pointless.

[blythspartan]

I’m pretty sure a couple of tweets popped up earlier in the week saying that the club had been sold and were then promptly deleted. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is already done and dusted.

[Stranded]

I’m pretty sure a couple of tweets popped up earlier in the week saying that the club had been sold and were then promptly deleted. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is already done and dusted.

There was one tweet that said it was sold 3 weeks ago and the checks were ongoing with the EFL. If there are multiple investors, that would make sense as it would take time - if it were just Storey then it would have taken them about 5 mins to go, nah.

[Franchise FC]

Yeh, still not buying this.

No but Storey is fronting something that is.....

Is he a sharp dressed man ?

[From Despair To Where?]

No, but the rumour's got legs.