Robert Platek is an American investor whose documented football ownership is the Platek family’s 2021 purchase of Italian club Spezia. In February 2025 the Reading Chronicle reported that he had signed an exclusivity agreement to buy Reading FC. That approach was never confirmed by the club or the EFL, and the takeover that actually completed in May 2025 was carried out by Redwood Holdings Limited, owned by Rob Couhig and Todd Trosclair.
Who Robert Platek is, on the public record
The most solid public fact about Platek is his family’s ownership of Spezia Calcio. On 11 February 2021, Spezia announced that the Platek family had completed its acquisition of the club. The announcement named Robert Platek, his wife Laurie, their children Amanda, Caroline and Robert Jr, and Robert’s brother Philip, and described the family as hailing from New York.
The same announcement said the investment was personal to the family. Spezia stated: “This is a personal investment by The Platek Family and has no affiliation with MSD Capital.” Any report that ties the Spezia purchase to the investment firm MSD Capital is contradicted by the club’s own wording.
The family’s involvement did not last. On 8 February 2025, Spezia announced that FC32 Global Holdings Inc., an international group founded by Paul Francis, had acquired the entire share capital of the club and become its sole shareholder. The club thanked the Platek family, especially outgoing president Philip Platek. Robert Platek should therefore be described as a former Spezia owner, not a current one.
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The public record does not establish a fuller account of his non-football career. Claims about his net worth or age that circulate in online snippets and social posts are not supported by the sources reviewed for this article, and they are left out here.
The reported approach to Reading FC
Platek’s name entered the Reading story through the Reading Chronicle. In a report dated around 25 February 2025, the paper said he had signed an exclusivity agreement to buy the club. The version reviewed for this article was a repost of that report rather than the original newspaper page. According to that repost, Reading declined to comment and the paper could not reach Platek.
That is a press report, not an official confirmation. Reading’s own statements from the period never named him.
What Reading’s official statement said
On 27 March 2025, Reading said exclusivity remained in place with its proposed purchaser. The proposed sale covered the club, Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood Park Training Ground. The statement did not identify the purchaser.
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The same statement said that Dai Yongge was required to divest his interests in the club after his director disqualification. That divestment requirement is the reason the sale was moving under a deadline.
What the EFL recorded
On 22 April 2025, the English Football League said it had extended Dai Yongge’s divestment deadline to 5 May 2025 and that progress had been made on the proposed sale. The league’s statement did not name a buyer either.
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Who completed the Reading takeover
On 3 May 2025, Reading announced a sale in principle to Redwood Holdings Limited. The club said Redwood was a subsidiary of Dogwood Football LLC, which is owned by Rob Couhig and Todd Trosclair of New Orleans, Louisiana. The transaction included the stadium and the training ground.
BBC Sport reported that the transaction completed on 14 May 2025. It covered 100% of Reading Football Club Limited’s shareholding and received EFL clearance. Companies House records list Redwood Holdings 1 Ltd as the club’s active person with significant control, with the notification dated 14 May 2025.
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Timeline
| Date | Event | Source and status |
|---|---|---|
| 11 February 2021 | Platek family acquisition of Spezia announced | Spezia Calcio announcement; official |
| 8 February 2025 | FC32 Global Holdings announced as Spezia’s sole shareholder; Platek family thanked as outgoing owners | Spezia Calcio announcement; official |
| Around 25 February 2025 | Platek reported to have signed an exclusivity agreement to buy Reading | Reading Chronicle, seen in a repost; press report, not confirmed |
| 27 March 2025 | Exclusivity confirmed with an unnamed proposed purchaser; sale covers club, stadium and training ground | Reading FC statement; official, purchaser not named |
| 22 April 2025 | Divestment deadline for Dai Yongge extended to 5 May 2025 | EFL statement; official |
| 3 May 2025 | Sale in principle to Redwood Holdings Limited announced | Reading FC statement; official |
| 14 May 2025 | Redwood completes acquisition of 100% of the club’s shareholding with EFL clearance | BBC Sport report and Companies House record |
The reported approach compared with the completed sale
The two transactions differ in the way they are documented, and that difference matters for anyone repeating the story.
- Named buyer: the Platek approach is named only in the Reading Chronicle report. The Redwood sale is named in the club’s own announcement.
- Official confirmation: the Platek link has no confirmation from Reading or the EFL. The Redwood sale is confirmed by the club, the EFL clearance and the Companies House control record.
- Status: the Platek approach was reported as exclusivity, which is not a completed purchase. The Redwood sale completed on 14 May 2025.
- Latest record reviewed: the most recent ownership record for this article is the May 2025 completion. Later changes would need to be checked directly in Companies House.
How to check a football club ownership claim
When an ownership claim appears in a report, these checks separate confirmed facts from speculation:
- Look for an announcement on the club’s own website or official channels, and check whether it names the buyer.
- Check whether the league, here the EFL, has issued a statement or cleared a transaction.
- Search the Companies House register for the club company and review the person with significant control entry and its notification date.
- Treat reports that rely on a single newspaper repost or social media copy as unconfirmed until the original article or an official statement is found.
Applied to this story, the first three steps identify Redwood Holdings as the buyer, and the fourth explains why the Platek exclusivity report remains a press report.
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