Reading fan group Sell Before We Dai are calling on the EFL to reject the reported move from British businessman William Storey to take over the club.
According to the Telegraph, the 45-year-old has agreed a £50m purchase of the club and SCL Stadium subject to passing the EFL Directors test.
However, the individual has a chequered past in sport, ending his sponsorship of Haas Formula One team under a cloud and failing to acquire Sunderland or Coventry City.
Statement on #ReadingFC takeover rumours below pic.twitter.com/2wzeNqXWi6
— Sell Before We Dai (@SellBeforeWeDai) October 12, 2023
The Reading Chronicle have been told my multiple sources connected to the club that Mr Storey is unlikely to pass the test to purchase the club, but the report states it could take up to six weeks to reach a conclusion.
Nick Houlton, a spokesperson for Sell Before We Dai, said: "When we set up Sell Before We Dai, we didn’t want to be just another protest group. We wanted to make fan voices heard and fight for a solution to football’s ownership problem.
“To say we have our reservations about William Storey is an understatement. He has zero experience in football, his foray into F1 ended acrimoniously, and his previous bids, including this one, have been characterised as attention-seeking.
“His bid also lacks transparency. The funding is not entirely out of his own pocket and his communication with fans has been a concerning mixture of antagonistic and publicly cryptic.
“So it’s over to the EFL. Thanks to the actions of Reading supporters, as well as other fan groups, the EFL’s fit and proper owners test will face more scrutiny than ever before.
“Politicians are watching, the national media are watching, football is watching. We cannot rebound from one bad owner to another. We cannot go from the frying pan and into the fire. We cannot be let down again.”
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