Reading FC bidder banned by financial watchdog for forging £170m bond portfolio
Former Reading FC bidder Paul Taylor has been fined almost half a million pounds and banned from working in financial services for lying about his wealth.
The Financial Conduct Authority issued the punishment today after finding Taylor guilty of using forged documents that purported to show he owned bonds worth around €200m (£171m).
Taylor attempted to use the documents as proof of funds for a £37m takeover of a UK bank in 2023 and his bid to buy financially stricken Reading from Dai Yongge in 2024.
The managing director of Taylor’s company, Blue Horizon Asset Management, Esmeralda Toni, was also banned by the FCA and fined over £120,000.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Trust in financial services relies on those working in it to be honest. Mr Taylor and Ms Toni fell woefully short of even this minimum expectation.
“They lied and lied again, first for commercial gain and then to cover their backs. They have no place in our industry.”
How Taylor tried to buy Reading from Yongge
Taylor, 63, attempted to buy Reading towards the end of Yongge’s disastrous eight-year ownership, during which they fell into the third tier of English football.
He submitted a proposal in July 2024 and the following month attempted to prove funding by using the bogus bond portfolio document.
He later told the FCA he had done so “as an expedient to progress matters to the next stage where alternative funding from legitimate sources would be available”.
Taylor withdrew his offer for Reading in November 2024.
Under Yongge, they suffered extreme financial difficulties, incurring points deductions and transfer bans, until he was finally disqualified as an owner in 2025.
That forced the sale of Reading to Rob Couhig, the American former owner of Wycombe Wanderers, and Todd Trosclair.
The Royals finished 12th in League One last season, their first under the new ownership.