Beleaguered League One club Reading are set to be purchased in a £50million deal by William Storey – the businessman who attempted to buy Coventry City last year – according to reports.
The Royals, who were relegated from the Championship last season, are in deep financial turmoil and fans have been protesting against unpopular owner Dai Yongge, who has been at the helm since 2017. Reading’s relegation was sealed after they were handed a six-point penalty for breaching the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules and the crisis club have already been hit with two further point deductions this season. The Royals were also the subject of a winding-up petition from The HMRC back in June.But Storey, whose energy drink Rich Energy briefly sponsored the Haas F1 team in 2019, has now ‘broadly’ agreed terms of a takeover with Yongge, according to The Telegraph. He is understood to have agreed to buy the club outright, however, the transaction will be subject to approval by the EFL.Storey, you may recall, has previously been linked with takeovers of the Sky Blues and Sunderland. He surfaced in the West Midlands last November as a rival bidder to Doug King to buy Coventry. The 45-year-old claimed to have had exclusivity to buying the football club – something then owners Sisu denied – and he threatened to challenge King’s takeover. Storey was in the stands to watch the Sky Blues’ 1-0 defeat at Reading, coincidentally, on December 10, 2022, posting a picture of himself in the stands at the game on social media. King was also at that match, sat in the directors’ box with former City chairman Tim Fisher and chief executive Dave Boddy.
Storey claimed he was waiting for a decision from Coventry City FC and pledged “…significant investment in January is the first essential step for ambitious growth.” However, Storey stated in early January that he had decided to pull out of a deal to buy City after speaking with his financial backers, while King’s takeover was ratified by the EFL.
Now Storey has pledged to clear Reading’s debt after appearing to reach a breakthrough in his bid to become involved in football. The Telegraph report claims that the deal will include the Select Car Leasing Stadium – Reading’s home since 1998 – and the club’s Bearwood Park training ground.
Storey will now have to pass the Football League’s fit and proper owners test. It is hoped said process could be completed in six weeks, while he has also ‘promised privately’ to invest the playing squad once the current transfer embargo the club is under is lifted.
The Royals are currently third from bottom in League One following a difficult start to the season under new head coach Ruben Selles, who was appointed following his departure from Southampton in the summer.
