Wrexham Community Director Humphrey Ker has discussed the future ownership of the club and whether or not Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac can see the Dragons into the Premier League in the near future.
Wrexham’s story has been a remarkable one thus far. They’ve gone from being a rather obscure National League team to being a globally recognised and globally adored Championship team and all within the space of just a few years.
It’s all down to the ownership and marketing model of owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac. The Hollywood actors previously had no experience of football ownership but they’ve now set the benchmark for so many other teams in the English Football League.
Upon promotion to the Championship, it was reported that Wrexham are now worth £150million as a club. That marks an incredible 7,400% increase on the initial £2million that they paid to purchase the club.
And along the way there’s been talk of bringing in new investors and potentially selling a stake in the club for a huge sum.
Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Variety via Getty ImagesHumphrey Ker on potential new investors at Wrexham
Earlier in the summer, there were reports that Wrexham could sell a stake in the club, reportedly worth around £350million. That ship seems to have sailed, at least for the time being, with Wrexham simply focused on the upcoming Championship season as Phil Parkinson puts together a very strong-looking side and hopes of another fourth-straight promotion start to really gather speed.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Humphrey Ker was asked whether he thinks this current ownership model can see Wrexham reach the Premier League. He replied saying he thinks it’s very possible, and then explained how the club have welcomed on the Allyn family too. The Allyn family became minority investors in Wrexham earlier this year, with their arrival potentially marking a shift in how Reynolds and Mac’s ownership will change in years to come.
“I think it’s very possible,” Ker said when asked if the current ownership model can achieve promotion to the Premier League. “We’ve got a minority investor in the Allen family from upstate New York who own, or used to own a very successful medical equipment company. They made all the stethoscopes in America and this and they sold their company a long old time ago for a big chunk of change, and they bought a stake in the club.
“So they have impressive financial clout… I think that if we get into the Championship and [then] we stabilize and we build our training ground, because we don’t have a training ground, and we build our stand and we renovate the stadium we get ourselves up to like 20,000-seat modernish stadium that retains the charm, and we can make that jump, then I think what happens is that Rob and Ryan go into their rolodex and call up one of the dozens and dozens of people who’ve got in touch over the last four years and been like, ‘Hi, I’m a multi, multi, multi-billionaire. I want to join in on this with you’.
“And then they would sell either another minority stake or a slight majority stake or whatever it may be, where they would remain in their roles but we would have someone who could help bank, because I mean basically getting out of the Championship, you’re just lighting money.”
What Ryan Reynolds said after the Allyn family invested in Wrexham
As Wrexham’s rise up the Football League pyramid continues, it is expected that, in time, Reynolds and Mac will take a back seat and simply be the face of the club whilst allowing other, perhaps more financially powerful, investors lead the club, like the Allyn family and whoever might be interested.
Ker’s comments about there being a wealth of multi-billionaires interested in Wrexham should be an exciting sign for the future and if Wrexham can earn promotion in the next two years, for example, then we could see some serious, serious capital being thrown into Wrexham.
But for the time being, Reynolds and Mac remain majority investors. Reynolds spoke after the Allyn family’s investment earlier in the year, explaining that he and Mac remain majority owners but that the club is growing faster than anyone expected.
Reynolds explained: “No, we will remain majority owners. The team is growing faster than anyone expected. There are needs that require a certain type of skill and people who have some experience in growing things. We chose the Allyn family because they have similar values that make Wrexham. They’ve been revitalizing towns and communities for many years in upstate New York, and that’s why bringing them on didn’t cause a big stir.”
Wrexham kick off their Championship season away at Southampton this weekend.