William John Storey (born 13 September 1978) is a British businessman, from Richmond on Thames. He has been involved with the carbonated drink brand Rich Energy since 2015.
He was educated at the Russell School in Petersham and at the Tiffin Boys School in Kingston upon Thames, and later studied maths at the University of St Andrews. He claims to have had short spells in the RAF (or possibly the ATC – accounts differ), as a professional footballer (for QPR reserves), as a professional gambler, and as a tobacco farmer in Zimbabwe.[1][2] He founded a sports management company, William Storey management, though some of his filings at Companies House describe him as a 'Computer Consultant', and he traded for many years as 'Tryfan Technologies', an IT consultancy.[3]
Storey managed the boxer Frank Buglioni,[4] with whom he founded a fashion company named Danieli Style, and was part of an ill-fated sponsorship deal between the Haas Formula 1 team and Rich Energy.[5][6] Storey led efforts to return the Rich Energy brand as a Formula 1 team sponsor in 2021[7] without success.[8]
In July 2020, Storey said he was part of a consortium who were trying to purchase Sunderland Association Football Club,[9][10] though the Roker Report said the claim did not "stack up",[11] and former club CEO Jim Rodwell declined to comment upon his involvement.[12]
References
- ^ Gerrard, Bradley (30 March 2018). "Rich Energy chief: 'I fell into the drinks business after meeting a mad scientist'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ Duberley, Linda (8 July 2019). "The Strange Story of William Storey". RiverTribe. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ "William John STOREY - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Dawson, Alan (19 September 2013). "Fan fave Buglioni desperate to stand and fight, will continue career trajectory on Saturday". HITC. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ Saunders, Nate (3 March 2020). "The bizarre Haas-Rich Energy saga explained". ESPN.com. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ King, Alanis; Blackstock, Elizabeth (4 October 2019). "What You Find When You Look Into Rich Energy, the Mystery Sponsor of America's F1 Team". Jalopnik. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ Fair, Asher (14 February 2021). "Formula 1: Rich Energy sort of announced their F1 return". BeyondtheFlag.com. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ "Rich Energy back in the headlines in fresh sponsorship saga". PlanetF1. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ Donnelly, Mark (24 July 2020). "Who is William Storey? The Rich Energy CEO claiming to have launched a takeover bid for Sunderland AFC". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ Taylor, Louise (24 July 2020). "Founder of soft drinks firm Rich Energy bids to buy Sunderland". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ Bendelow, Ian (22 December 2020). "The obsession with William Storey should stop - now". Roker Report. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ Smith, Phil (14 December 2020). "Sunderland CEO Jim Rodwell had this to say about William Storey's takeover claims". www.shieldsgazette.com. Retrieved 23 December 2020.