Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have welcomed New York-based Allyn family as new minority investors in the League One club.
In a joint statement, the Hollywood actor duo said: “Wrexham has earned the world’s attention and we are focused on bringing on board world-class partners to help with the next phase of our growth.
“We have been fortunate to get to know the Allyn family and we are blown away by their intelligence, kindness and commitment. They are exactly the type of partners we will need for this amazing endeavour.”
A club statement added the investment “will help fuel the club’s lofty ambitions, as well as those of the broader Wrexham community”.
Based in Skaneateles, New York, the Allyns made their fortune through Welch Allyn, the global manufacturer of medical equipment.
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Eric Allyn, chief investment officer for the family group, said, “For more than a century, our family has focused on building great companies, while also uplifting wonderful communities.
“Our decades-long efforts in the Syracuse region are similar to what Rob and Ryan have started in Wrexham. We view Red Dragon Ventures as a vehicle to invest in a world-class football club, and, importantly, in the welcoming community of Wrexham.”
Wrexham are third in League One, four points adrift of leaders Birmingham City, having won seven of their opening 13 games of the season.
The Welsh club are bidding for a third successive promotion having gone from the National League to the third tier of English football inside three years under McElhenney and Reynolds’ stewardship.
Investment will help fund Wrexham’s ambition
Analysis by Richard Sutcliffe
A new minority investor being brought on board at the SToK Cae Ras is no surprise.
An intention to sell “minority equity positions” in the club was outlined in the strategic report accompanying the club’s most recently published accounts, for the 12 months to June 30, 2023.
The report, released in April this year, also confirmed a minority shareholder had already joined. No details as to the identity of that individual or group were given, nor how much was paid for the five per cent shareholding.
By selling an equity stake to the Allyn family, Reynolds and McElhenney have brought in welcome funds at a time when the ambitious League One club is embarking on several major infrastructure projects as well as looking to maintain the upwards trajectory that has seen Phil Parkinson’s side win back-to-back promotions.
A state-of-the-art Kop stand is planned that will partly be funded by public money, Wrexham having last week appointed a new architect in Populous with a view to the new structure being open in time for the summer of 2026.
Wrexham are also looking to build a new training ground, while a new academy is also in the pipeline at Darland School after formal plans were unveiled in September.
On the pitch, the owners are determined to keep progressing with the target for this season being promotion to the Championship, a level in the English pyramid where many clubs make eye-watering financial losses in chasing the dream of reaching the Premier League.
In clinching a place among the elite in the last season when financial figures are available (2022-23), Sheffield United lost £31.4 million and champions Burnley £27.9 million.
Neither Reynolds nor McElhenney will want to open themselves up to those sort of potential losses.
Only time will tell how many “minority shareholdings” the pair will be willing to sell in Wrexham. However, by reducing their own shareholding and bringing others on board but remaining as the public face, the move does have the hallmarks of how Reynolds has previously operated successfully in the business world.
Having launched the Aviation Gin brand, the Canadian actor sold out to the Diageo empire in a $610 million deal in 2020. Likewise, Mint Mobile, the budget mobile company part owned by Reynolds, was sold to T-Mobile for a cash and stocks deal valued at up to $1.35 billion.
Despite those two deals, the Deadpool star remained very closely linked to both companies in the aftermath through commercials and social media in the eyes of the public.
(Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
