George Reynolds (business)

George Reynolds (born 1936)[1] is a British businessman best known for his time as chairman of Darlington Football Club. He was found guilty of tax evasion in 2005. [2]

George Reynolds
Born
George Reynolds

1936 (age 83–84)
Sunderland, England
OccupationOwner of Darlington F.C. (1999–2004)
Criminal penalty3 years (2005)
2 weeks (2007)


Football

Reynolds became the chairman of Darlington Football Club in 1999 and built the team a new stadium 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. The stadium was renamed shortly afterwards. Darlington goalkeeper David Preece said shortly after he was transferred to Aberdeen F.C., the day before his debut against Celtic F.C., Reynolds called him threatening to cancel the transfer unless Preece signed a waiver of his £45,000 signing-on fee.[3]

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. The club was later relegated four divisions to the Northern Football League Division One and forced to reform as a new club, Darlington 1883, owned by the fans.[4]

Downfall

He was arrested on suspicion of money laundering in June 2004 after being stopped with £500,000 of cash in the boot of his car.[5] He later pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion and was sentenced to three years imprisonment in October 2005. Other charges which he denied, including money laundering, were left on file.[6] Reynolds was released on 6 December 2006 but was electronically tagged and subject to a curfew.[7] He was returned to prison for 2 weeks in April 2007 breaching the terms of his curfew.[8] He currently operates a vending machine company and works from an E-Cig shop in Chester-le-Street.

Personal life

Reynolds was brought up in Sunderland and in his early life became involved in crime. His first conviction was for stealing cigarettes, which he traded for food for his family.[9] Another conviction in the 1960s saw him sent to jail for six months smuggling watches.[10] In 1964 he was jailed for four years for safe-cracking, handling explosives, burglary and theft. He was jailed in 1970 for burglary and again in 1976 for theft.[11]

In jail a priest persuaded him to reform and Reynolds started to study. On his release he established a series of businesses.[9] These included a £25m kitchen surface factory based in Shildon. He amassed a £260 million fortune, and was ranked 112 in the Sunday Times rich list in 2000.[12] He built the Witton Hall mansion on the grounds of a cottage in the village. Some extravagant purchases included a fleet of cars, a house next door to the Spice Girls in London, a yacht,[13] a jet, a helicopter,[14] a swimming pool, and a Spanish villa.

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.[15]

Reynolds separated from his second wife, Karen Brown, in the early 1990s, with whom he had two daughters. Karen passed away from cancer in March 2020.

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References
  1. McIntyre, Marjorie (6 May 1999), "How George cracked it", The Northern Echo
  2. "Downfall of safecracker chairman". BBC News. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  3. "Ex-Darlington Keeper Remembers..." Sabotage Times. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  4. "Brief History | Official Darlington FC". Darlington1883.co.uk. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  5. "Reynolds held in police cash swoop", The Northern Echo, 15 June 2004, retrieved 16 January 2012
  6. Jail term for ex-football chief, BBC News, 21 October 2005, retrieved 16 January 2012
  7. "George Reynolds vows to come up smelling of roses", The Northern Echo, 6 December 2006, retrieved 16 January 2012
  8. McIntyre, Marjorie (24 April 2007), "George Reynolds back behind bars", The Northern Echo, retrieved 16 January 2012
  9. "I was victim of police vendetta - Reynolds", The Northern Echo, 9 January 2001, retrieved 16 January 2012
  10. George Reynolds: Playing by his own Rules, BBC, 16 March 2004, archived from the original on 28 August 2007
  11. "Wife's fears for jailed tax cheat Reynolds", The Northern Echo, 22 October 2005, retrieved 16 January 2012
  12. "George Reynolds loses appeal", The Northern Echo, 8 December 2005, retrieved 16 January 2012
  13. "Tax cheat Reynolds told: Prepare for jail", The Northern Echo, 21 October 2005, retrieved 16 January 2012
  14. Amos, Mike (22 July 1999), "Just a chipboard off the old block!", The Northern Echo
  15. "Reynolds welcomes prison sentence for 'Rolex robber'", The Northern Echo, 29 November 2000, retrieved 16 January 2012
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