{"id":294011,"date":"2023-10-12T12:24:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T12:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/?p=294011"},"modified":"2023-10-12T12:24:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T12:24:35","slug":"who-is-prospective-new-reading-owner-william-storey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/soccer\/who-is-prospective-new-reading-owner-william-storey\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is prospective new Reading owner William Storey?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Meet English football&#8217;s newest owner: Bearded ex-F1 backer William Storey once owned a cheetah, bet on horses to fund his degree and claimed to be in the RAF&#8230; now he&#8217;s buying desperate Reading in a \u00a350m deal<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>William Storey has his critics but he is ambitious to try and turn Reading around\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Funded university as a professional gambler before working on a Zimbabwe farm<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>William Storey has long wanted to purchase a football club &#8211; now it has been reported he will finally get his wish.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Reading are reportedly on the verge of being sold to the British businessman in a \u00a350million deal, according to the Telegraph.<\/p>\n<p>Storey has reportedly agreed to clear the club&#8217;s debts of \u00a350m and has pledged to invest in the playing squad when a transfer embargo is lifted. The businessman, who is chief executive of the drinks brand\u00a0Rich Energy, will now be subject to the EFL&#8217;s fit and proper owners test.<\/p>\n<p>And sceptics of him point to that test, which has become more rigorous in recent years, as a matter to be assessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For now though, Storey, who previously led Rich Energy&#8217;s controversial sponsorship of Haas\u00a0Formula One team, has reportedly agreed terms to buy the club from unpopular current owner owner Yongge Dai.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/09\/31363294-12622347-He_is_not_shy_to_share_what_looks_to_be_the_glamorous_lifestyle_-a-3_1697099685923.jpg\" height=\"780\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>William Storey is the man behind a reported \u00a350million takeover of League One side Reading\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/10\/31363292-12622347-image-a-15_1697101696005.jpg\" height=\"403\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Going back through archives, Storey shared one particular photo of him with his pet cheetah<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Storey&#8217;s desire to own a football club has been an open secret for years now.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He has previously attempted to buy clubs in the English Football League, with the businessman failing in a bid to take over Sunderland in 2020. He also attempted to buy Coventry City last year.<\/p>\n<p>The prospective owner took to Twitter to comment on Reading&#8217;s fortunes this week, suggesting the club&#8217;s former chairman Sir\u00a0John Madejski support the next owner of the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;John Madejski is a Reading legend. He did a fantastic job &amp; showed enormous commitment to the club and the town over an extended period,&#8217; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I hope he supports the next owner and it is important that the huge efforts &amp; financial contribution of Dai Yongge are recognised by all.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Question marks surround how he could possibly finance the move &#8211; his record on Companies House,\u00a0the UK website for limited companies producing end-of-term accounts, shows he has held the role of director at seven companies, all of which have since been dissolved or liquidated.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are also question marks around Storey as an individual. His critics label him a chancer but Storey has staunchly defended his intentions for wanting to take over a football club.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I don&#8217;t like being told what to do,&#8217; he once said. &#8216;I don&#8217;t like clich\u00e9s and I don&#8217;t like following the crowd. I certainly don&#8217;t do what is expected of me.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/10\/31363278-12622347-The_Rich_Energy_co_founder_left_gained_attention_after_the_drink-a-19_1697102530174.jpg\" height=\"432\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Rich Energy co-founder (left) gained attention after the drinks company became the title sponsor of Haas in 2019 &#8211; only to pull out before the season ended due to performance<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/10\/31363284-12622347-Storey_right_was_all_smiles_as_he_posed_for_a_photo_with_F1_tyco-a-14_1697101678217.jpg\" height=\"442\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Storey (right) was all smiles as he posed for a photo with F1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone (left)<\/p>\n<p>Storey is a mathematician who once had a pet cheetah called Boy; was a one-time professional gambler; a farmer in Zimbabwe; co-founder of an energy drinks company and he also says he had a trial at\u00a0Queens Park Rangers\u00a0at the start of the 21st Century.<\/p>\n<p>Storey&#8217;s formative years saw him educated at the Russell School in Petersham before going on to the Tiffin Boys&#8217; School, a short distance away in Kingston.<\/p>\n<p>From there he went north of the border to St Andrews University to read Mathematics. He is also said to have been part of the university&#8217;s Air Training Corps, according to one profile, although the Telegraph once said he was part of the Royal Air Force for a short stint.<\/p>\n<p>As a university student he gambled to pay his way. His fascination for politics and his knowhow of mathematics saw Storey supposedly find a way to beat the system.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;To supplement my income I developed a trading algorithm for horseracing using mathematics, which was my degree,&#8217; he once explained, as per River Tribe.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;For two years I was a professional gambler and in recent years made significant bets on the outcome of the US elections and on the Referendum. This philosophy on risk undoubtedly informs my business strategy.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Reading are currently third from bottom in League One after being relegated from the Championship last season. The last thing they want to hear is the word &#8216;gamble&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the Royals were relegated after being deducted six points for breaching the EFL&#8217;s profitability and sustainability rules.<\/p>\n<p>Mail Sport spoke to Storey back in 2020 when he was in pursuit of Sunderland. It was put to him then, among other claims, that he spent time with QPR.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I trained with QPR for about a month when Gerry Francis was the manager,&#8217; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It was round about 2000 with the first team. You had the likes of Iain Dowie, Peter Crouch was there at the time too.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I trained for about a month and played a couple of reserve games as a trialist.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From there the story goes that Storey travelled out to Zimbabwe to work on a tobacco plantation and that was when he and his girlfriend got the cheetah.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/10\/76237347-12622347-Reading_were_relegated_from_the_Championship_last_season_after_b-a-16_1697101933699.jpg\" height=\"415\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Reading were relegated from the Championship last season after being deducted 16 points in two years by the EFL<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/10\/76452211-12622347-Storey_has_been_commenting_about_Reading_on_social_media_ahead_o-a-17_1697101937767.jpg\" height=\"196\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Storey has been commenting about Reading on social media ahead of a possible takeover<\/p>\n<p>When Storey&#8217;s name comes up fans are &#8211; rightly &#8211; seeking answers on his net worth, the individuals he is working with, and greater transparency on Rich Energy&#8217;s fiasco in Formula One, which saw them pull out of a multi-year agreement to sponsor the Haas team, less than 12 months after signing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Storey and his Rich Energy company had briefly sponsored the Haas F1 team after signing a\u00a0multi-year agreement in October 2018.<\/p>\n<p>The partnership was ended in September 2019, with\u00a0Storey claiming he terminated the contract due to the team&#8217;s poor performance.<\/p>\n<p>Haas said the &#8216;amicable&#8217; end of the partnership came after a &#8216;corporate restructuring process at Rich Energy.<\/p>\n<p>One of Storey&#8217;s biggest barriers &#8211; he faces a job to win over his most vocal dissenters &#8211; is that there appears a distinct lack of trust in his word.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2019, Storey lost a copyright court case in which Judge Melissa Clarke said neither he nor his associate Sean Kelly could be described as &#8216;credible or reliable witnesses&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>There have also been issues around the holding company for Rich Energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2019 it was renamed on Companies House to\u00a0Lightning Volt Ltd, only for that company to be declared\u00a0insolvent on October 27, 2020.<\/p>\n<p>He was quizzed repeatedly on these issues at the time and brushed claims off as nothing more than &#8216;fantasy&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to motorsport.com\u00a0in February 2019, Storey added: &#8216;Ultimately we&#8217;ve just produced 90million cans.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;As far as I&#8217;m concerned anyone who says it doesn&#8217;t exist it&#8217;s like saying man never walked on the moon, or Elvis is still alive. It&#8217;s just fantasy.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Telegraph report that Storey has met Reading boss Ruben Selles and is now plotting to turn the club around following a major dip in their fortunes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As for whether he will pass the FA&#8217;s Fit and Proper Owners Test, only time will tell&#8230;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/10\/76452075-12622347-William_Storey_has_reportedly_agreed_a_50m_deal_to_take_over_EFL-a-20_1697102554116.jpg\" height=\"398\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Storey has plenty of critics and he still needs to pass the FA&#8217;s Fit and Proper Owners Test<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/10\/76237351-12622347-Reading_owner_Dai_Yongge_left_was_hit_by_a_misconduct_charge_las-a-18_1697102500262.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Reading owner Dai Yongge (left) was hit with a misconduct charge by the EFL last month after his failure to comply with an order from an independent disciplinary commission<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12622347\/Meet-English-footballs-newest-owner-Bearded-ex-F1-backer-William-Storey-owned-cheetah-bet-horses-fund-degree-claimed-RAF-hes-buying-desperate-Reading-50m-deal.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meet English football&#8217;s newest owner: Bearded ex-F1 backer William Storey once owned a cheetah, bet on horses to fund his degree and claimed to be in the RAF&#8230; now he&#8217;s buying desperate Reading in a \u00a350m deal William Storey has his critics but he is ambitious to try and turn Reading around\u00a0 Funded university as&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Who is prospective new Reading owner William Storey? 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