Reading owner sued for £10m by ex-EFL chief after takeover bid collapsed despite lending League One side £5m

The ex-EFL owner has insisted all along his offer remains on the table

Posted Wednesday, December 04, 2024 by Thesun.co.uk

READING have been hit with a £10.3million compensation claim by former Wycombe owner Rob Couhig.

The American lawyer told SunSport he lodged a claim in the High Court against Renhe Sports Management — the company through which Chinese businessman Dai Yongge owns Reading.

Rob Couhig is seeking £800,000 in costs and £9.5m in potential lost profits after Dai Yongge withdrew

Couhig is seeking £800,000 in costs and £9.5m in potential lost profits after Yongge withdrew from a £30m agreement to sell the League One club in September.

After agreeing a purchase price last summer, Couhig lent the Royals around £5m to help with running costs.

All the paperwork required to seal the deal was completed — other than Yongge’s signature.

And Couhig was stunned to receive an email from the club in September telling him the deal was off.

Yongge went on to enter exclusive negotiations with another buyer, whose identity has never been revealed.

RSM have been approached for comment.

Couhig insisted he had the interests of the League One club’s boss Ruben Selles and his squad at heart.

He added: “I would much rather do a deal to take over the club than win these damages.

“I really want the club to transact before January so we can get down to business. But no one at Reading has had the courtesy to pick up the phone to me and say, ‘We don’t like X, we want Y'.

“I made it clear from day one I am not a bank. I was only lending them money to buy the club.

“I feel terrible for Ruben and the boys.

“I’ve tried not to be a distraction, which is why I’ve not said anything.

“But enough is enough. I’m at my wits’ end and had to act.”

Couhig has insisted all along his offer remains on the table.

Ex-Reading chairman Roger Smee revealed Yongge has also rejected his bid to buy the club.