Reading's Madejski restructures debt

Sir John Madejski, the owner of Reading FC, is in talks to restructure a loan that backed the expansion of his property empire after the crash in regional property values led to a breach in the covenants of his debt.   His investments have suffered as commercial property in regional towns and cities have been among the worst hit parts of the market collapse over the past four years.

He built up his fortune around the Auto Trader magazine which he launched in 1976.  'Mr Reading', as he is known, was forced to sell chunks of a £400m in-town development last month and is in talks to renegotiate the debt behind the rest of his property holding company, Sackville Properties.

Reading FC is dependent on the financial support of Sir John, with a loan made at a low rate of interest that would be hard to replace.   However, the club is performing well financially with an annual pre-tax profit of £1.9m last year.