Reading are trapped in a three-way battle of brinkmanship involving the owner, Dai Yongge, and two potential buyers, the American businessmen Robert Platek and Rob Couhig, leaving staff at the club fearing they will be forced into administration next month.
Several sources have told the Guardian that it is “touch and go” whether the League One club have sufficient funds to complete the season, while they also face the threat of suspension from the English Football League if Dai does not sell the club by 5 April.
Reading have been for sale for more than 500 days, but with just 10 days left until the EFL deadline there is little hope at the club that Dai will complete an increasingly complex and toxic transaction in time to avoid a potentially devastating sanction.
The Chinese businessman is still in an exclusivity period with the private equity expert Platek, but the sale has been complicated by a judgment in the London commercial court last week that the former bidder Couhig retains a mortgage on Reading’s Select Car Leasing Stadium, a car park at the ground and the training ground.
Couhig’s securities stem from his £25m bid last summer, which was accepted by Dai and led to him loaning the club around £5m, only for the owner to withdraw at the 11th hour. The former Wycombe owner told the Guardian that he still wants to buy Reading and would “get on a plane today” if it would help to resolve the situation.
The alternative is for Dai, Platek or a combination of both to make a multimillion-pound offer to pay off Couhig and reunite the club with its property assets. Until the ownership situation is resolved, further borrowing to ease the club’s cash-flow problems is impossible as they have no assets to offer as security. Only Couhig’s loan and a £5m sell-on fee from Michael Olise’s transfer from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich has kept them afloat until this point.
The long-running ownership battle has been made more difficult by the EFL’s decision to disqualify Dai due to the discovery of multiple unresolved court cases in China, one of which it is claimed has left him facing a potential bill of £200m. Dai was disqualified for failing the EFL’s owners and directors test on 11 February, but it was not made public until a letter from the EFL was referenced by his lawyer in the court case last Friday.
The EFL has declined to comment but sources have indicated it chose not to make the disqualification public for fear of it jeopardising the sale process. The Guardian has been told that even Platek and Couhig were not made aware of the matter until Thursday evening. The EFL made a previous attempt to disqualify Yongge due to Reading being repeatedly late in paying wages in November 2023, but was blocked by an independent commission appointed to hear the case.
The commercial court case last week sprang from Dai seeking an emergency injunction a fortnight ago to remove Couhig’s property charges, pending the American’s claim for £12m in damages resulting from the collapse of his own takeover bid, which will be heard by the high court in July. The injunction attempt was dismissed by the judge.
Couhig is understood to have reached out to Dai before the court case last week giving him two alternatives – sell the club to him, or pay him off – without receiving a response. There has also been no dialogue with Platek, who had have to deal with Couhig’s claim on the stadium and training ground if he went ahead with his proposed purchase.
“People act like it’s me that’s stopping the deal, but that’s just not true,” Couhig told the Guardian. “I’m willing to get on a plane today if it means bringing a resolution for the betterment of the club.
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“I would still like to buy Reading and my offer remains on the table, but if that’s not possible I would like to help find a solution. I would listen to any offer from either party.”
Platek, who also owns the Portuguese club Casa Pia, has had considerable involvement in investing in English football previously through his position as co-head of global credit at BDT & MSD Partners, the investment vehicle of the technology billionaire Michael Dell. Previously known as MSD, the company has lent tens of millions of pounds to the EFL clubs including Burnley, West Bromwich Albion, Derby and Sunderland, as well as Premier League side Southampton.
A source who has dealt with Platek in the past told the Guardian that his love of deal-making is legendary, and predicted the Reading negotiations would go down to the wire. West Brom in particular were close to going under three years ago before securing a £20m loan from MSD.
The EFL is understood to be concerned about Reading becoming the first club to enter administration since Derby four years ago, with the potential for liquidation to follow, but is hoping the current regime could limp on until the end of the season if necessary.
An EFL board meeting on 3 April will decide Reading’s immediate fate if the club have not been sold at that point. The board could suspend the club or extend their deadline if it deems there to be a reasonable prospect of the sale going through.