George Reynolds
Encyclopedia
George Reynolds is a British
businessman best known for his time as chairman of Darlington Football Club
.
Reynolds became involved in criminal activities during the 1950s, and spent six months in jail for smuggling watches from incoming ships in the 1960s. Later, he established a series of businesses, including a £25m kitchen surface factory based in Shildon
and went on to amass a £300 million fortune.
costing £20 million, which he named after himself. Reynolds was originally very popular with fans but he then took the club into administration
and left the club in January 2004, just months after the new 25,000-seat stadium (one of the largest stadiums outside the Premier League) was opened. This has prompted many Darlington fans to chant "there's only one George Reynolds" sarcastically at matches. The stadium was renamed shortly afterwards.
He famously declared his ambition to take Darlington into the Premier League, and when he took the club over they had been in the Football League's basement division since 1992. The new stadium did nothing to improve their on-field fortunes, and they did not move out of the basement division of the Football League until 2010 - when they were relegated to the Conference
.
gameshow Without Prejudice?
,. He built the Witton Hall mansion on the grounds of a cottage in the village. Some extravagant purchases included jets, helicopters, a swimming pool, a house next door to the Spice Girls
in London
, a yacht
, a Spanish
villa and a fleet of cars.
Before he married Susan, he had a previous marriage with a woman named Karen with whom he had 2 children - Victoria who works in Human Resources and Alexandria who is studying a law degree and owns City West Dance Studio. He has a grandson called Oliver.
A third man demanded that Mrs Reynolds hand over her watch as well. But she began screaming and a dustbin man, who was working nearby, picked up a pole and chased off the gang who were subsequently arrested.
He was tried for charges of tax evasion after being stopped with £500,000 worth of cash in the boot of his car http://www.totalfootballforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1395. The court heard how Reynolds was now almost penniless having sold his houses, cars and yacht. In October 2005 Reynolds was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment. Reynolds was released on 6 December 2006 but was electronically tagged and subject to a curfew until he received his parole licence in April 2007.
He currently operates a vending machine company, and is involved in retail.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
businessman best known for his time as chairman of Darlington Football Club
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
.
Reynolds became involved in criminal activities during the 1950s, and spent six months in jail for smuggling watches from incoming ships in the 1960s. Later, he established a series of businesses, including a £25m kitchen surface factory based in Shildon
Shildon
Shildon is a town in County Durham, in England. It is situated 2 miles to the south east of Bishop Auckland and 11 miles north of Darlington. It is 13 miles away from Durham, 23 miles from Sunderland and 23 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne...
and went on to amass a £300 million fortune.
Football
Reynolds became the chairman of Darlington Football Club in 1999 and built the team a new stadiumThe Darlington Arena
The Darlington Arena is a football stadium in England that hosts Darlington Football Club's home fixtures.-History:...
costing £20 million, which he named after himself. Reynolds was originally very popular with fans but he then took the club into administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
and left the club in January 2004, just months after the new 25,000-seat stadium (one of the largest stadiums outside the Premier League) was opened. This has prompted many Darlington fans to chant "there's only one George Reynolds" sarcastically at matches. The stadium was renamed shortly afterwards.
He famously declared his ambition to take Darlington into the Premier League, and when he took the club over they had been in the Football League's basement division since 1992. The new stadium did nothing to improve their on-field fortunes, and they did not move out of the basement division of the Football League until 2010 - when they were relegated to the Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
.
Personal Life
He married Susan, who has appeared on the Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
gameshow Without Prejudice?
Without Prejudice?
Without Prejudice? is a game show created and produced by 12 Yard that aired in the UK on Channel 4 from 4 January 2003 to 16 April 2004 and ran for 2 series. It was hosted by Liza Tarbuck. A short-lived US version aired from 17 July to 16 September 2007 on GSN and was hosted by psychotherapist Dr...
,. He built the Witton Hall mansion on the grounds of a cottage in the village. Some extravagant purchases included jets, helicopters, a swimming pool, a house next door to the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, a yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
, a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
villa and a fleet of cars.
Before he married Susan, he had a previous marriage with a woman named Karen with whom he had 2 children - Victoria who works in Human Resources and Alexandria who is studying a law degree and owns City West Dance Studio. He has a grandson called Oliver.
Criminal activity
In 2000 he was the victim of an attempted mugging as he left a restaurant in North London with his wife and mother-in-law. Two men bundled him to the ground and tried to prise a diamond ring from his finger before removing his £41,000 Rolex watch.A third man demanded that Mrs Reynolds hand over her watch as well. But she began screaming and a dustbin man, who was working nearby, picked up a pole and chased off the gang who were subsequently arrested.
He was tried for charges of tax evasion after being stopped with £500,000 worth of cash in the boot of his car http://www.totalfootballforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1395. The court heard how Reynolds was now almost penniless having sold his houses, cars and yacht. In October 2005 Reynolds was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment. Reynolds was released on 6 December 2006 but was electronically tagged and subject to a curfew until he received his parole licence in April 2007.
He currently operates a vending machine company, and is involved in retail.
