Ex-Haas F1 title sponsor attempting Reading FC purchase

The founder of Rich Energy, the ex-Haas Formula 1 team title sponsor, is reportedly attempting to complete a purchase of English Football League side Reading Football Club.

Having failed to initially secure an agreement with the Williams team, William Storey announced ahead of the 2019 season that Rich Energy had struck a deal with Haas, F1’s newest incumbent.

However, the relationship rapidly deteriorated, with Storey citing the American outfit’s poor performance as the reason for the deal being terminated.

After recording a fifth-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship the previous year, Haas had slumped to ninth place, a position it would occupy until the end of the campaign.

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The partnership would come to an end officially shortly after, Haas stating that the two parties had “amicably agreed to end their partnership together with immediate effect.”

Following that collapse, Rich Energy has continued its foray into motorsport. Storey cancelled a deal with British Superbikes team OMG Racing in 2020 after claiming it “repeatedly acted in bad faith”.

Rich Energy has also sponsored BTC Racing in the British Touring Car Championship in 2022 before becoming the title sponsor of Ducati’s participation in the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup last year.

However, Storey has also attempted to venture into football on multiple occasions, previously failing with bids to complete a takeover of Coventry City and Sunderland FC.

But the Daily Telegraph reveals that Storey has agreed terms with Reading FC owner Yongge Dail in a £50m deal, subject to him adhering to the English Football League’s ‘fit and proper persons test’.

Reading was relegated to the third tier of English football last season, having incurred a six-point penalty for breaching the Football League’s probability and sustainability rules.

The Royals, as Reading are known, currently reside in the relegation zone in League 1 with a total of only six points from their opening 11 games of the season.

The club received a winding-up order from HM Revenue & Customs in June.

Meanwhile, Haas proceeded to pen a deal with Russian company Uralkali for 2021, which came to an abrupt end in early 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Kannapolis-based squad has since rebranded to MoneyGram Haas F1 Team to reflect the side’s latest title sponsorship agreement, signed ahead of the current season.