Following owner Dai Yongge’s agreement to sell the team’s training facility, Chiron Sports Group withdrew from acquisition negotiations.
According to a story from The Athletic, League One team Reading has agreed to sell their Bearwood training facility to league rivals Wycombe Wanderers.
Owner Dai Yongge and CEO Dayong Pang informed the Royals’ supporters on Sunday that they were considering selling Bearwood in order to address their immediate financial problems.
Given that they had recently lost ownership over a number of other properties, including the hotel, parking lot, and even the Select Car Leasing Stadium, the Berkshire team’s supporters were quite concerned about this.
The SCL Stadium was purchased by owner Dai, but it doesn’t appear like Bearwood will be able to be a part of any acquisition agreement.
The cutting-edge training ground will soon be owned by Wycombe, a company situated in Buckinghamshire but not too distant from the Wokingham training facility.
Doyle talked on the current state of affairs at the Select Car Leasing Stadium as well as Sir John Madejski.
The Royals fan base may become even more polarized as a result of this situation.
Not only are they no longer going to be the owners of their own training ground, but the club doesn’t seem to be close to a takeover deal either.
On the other hand, it appears that the Chairboys will soon have access to Premier League-caliber training facilities.
Currently based in Marlow, owner Rob Couhig has invested money in improvements to their training ground, but space is limited there.
Wycombe had been thinking about constructing a new facility, but they seized the chance to purchase Bearwood when it presented itself.
Takeover negotiations fall because of Reading FC’s training ground development.
A group fronted by former director of Charlton Athletic, Leo Rifkind, withdrew from a takeover offer because Dai, the present owner, decided to sell Bearwood Park.
This group was led by the London- and Switzerland-based Chiron Sports Group, which has a share in the Italian team Venezia.
Dai’s decision to profit from the training field, which is unlikely to be included in any buyout offer at this time, is thought to have shocked the group.
Dai is in charge of the stadium as well, so it’s possible that the takeover package won’t include it either. It’s also uncertain if the Royals’ owner truly wants to sell the lower-division team.
Supporters of Reading FC won’t know what to do next.
Selling Bearwood is a risky move, and it begs the question of whether Dai really wants to sell the Royals.
The club will undoubtedly become less appealing to buy as a result of the sale of the training facility, whatever the justification offered—short-term funding.
It makes sense that some will call for more protests given that the team appears to be making a very risky choice.
Regardless of the off-field circumstances, others will be eager to support the squad because they are currently only five points above the drop zone.
League One Table (18th-21st) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
(As of March 14th) | P | GD | Pts | |
18 | Reading | 38 | -6 | 39 |
19 | Burton Albion | 37 | -18 | 39 |
20 | Cambridge United | 37 | -19 | 39 |
21 | Cheltenham Town | 36 | -20 | 34 |