Reading FC bidder banned by financial watchdog for forging £170m bond portfolio

Financial watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority has imposed a significant penalty on former Reading FC bidder Paul Taylor, banning him from the financial services industry for his dishonesty. Taylor was fined nearly half a million pounds for lying about his wealth. The FCA discovered Taylor had fabricated documents claiming he owned bonds worth around €200m (£171m), which he used to attempt a £37m takeover of a UK bank in 2023 and his bid to purchase financially troubled Reading FC from its owner, Dai Yongge, in 2024.

Esmeralda Toni, managing director of Taylor's company, Blue Horizon Asset Management, also received a similar ban and a hefty fine exceeding £120,000. The FCA's joint executive director, Therese Chambers, remarked that trust in the financial services sector is contingent upon honesty, and both Taylor and Toni had repeatedly failed to meet this basic requirement.

They had initially lied for commercial gain and then to conceal their actions. Taylor, 63, had attempted to purchase Reading FC at the end of Yongge's eight-year tenure in the lower echelons of English football. His proposal was submitted in July 2024, followed by an attempt to substantiate his funding using forged documents. Later, Taylor admitted to the FCA that he had done so "as an expedient to progress matters to the next stage where alternative funding from legitimate sources would be available."

However, he ultimately abandoned his offer in November 2024. During Yongge's ownership, Reading FC faced severe financial hardships, including points deductions and transfer bans, culminating in Yongge's disqualification as an owner in 2025. This forced the team's sale to new owners, Rob Couhig and Todd Trosclair. The Royals concluded the previous season in 12th place in League One, marking their first under the new ownership.