Owner confirms potential club sale

READING FC’S controversial owner has entered into negotiations over the potential sale of the football club.

In a statement on Tuesday the club confirmed Dai Yongee had committed to exclusive talks with an unnamed party.

The deal would include the sale of football club, stadium and Bearwood Park training ground, the proposed separate sale of which to Wycombe Wanderers was recently blocked on planning grounds.

The statement said: “The club can confirm Mr Dai has committed to a letter of intent with a potential purchaser of Reading Football Club. The parties will now enter a period of exclusive negotiation to agree the final terms. The completion is expected to take up to two months, at which time the purchaser will be announced. The transaction would include the transfer of Mr Dai’s shareholding in The Reading Football Club Limited, as well as the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood Park training ground.”

The Chinese businessman’s control of the club, which began in 2017, has been dogged by controversy and seen Reading docked a total of 18 points by the English Football League for failing to meet financial obligations, such as unpaid wages and a tax bill.

The announcement of discussions was cautiously welcome by Reading FC fan-based pressure group Sell Before We Dai, formed to lobby for the sale of the club to secure a sustainable future for it. It said the statement raised ‘as many questions as it does answers’ and expressed unease over the anonymity of the buyer and lack of transparency surrounding the negotiations.

In a statement it said: “We implore the potential buyer to reach out as soon as possible to provide some reassurances. We also need to stress that ‘exclusivity’ does not mean ‘done deal’ and as outlined in the statement, there is still some way to go before we can truly celebrate the end of the Dai regime.

“However, though we are preaching caution, there is a clear reason to be optimistic. It appears shortfalls and HMRC have been covered but the most exciting part of the statement is that the deal includes the football club, the stadium and training ground – all the assets we believe should belong to and be used by Reading Football Club and nobody else.”

The Royals next match is today (Friday) at home to Northampton Town. On Monday they are away to Bolton Wanderers.