Paul Taylor, former chief executive of Blue Horizon Asset Management Limited (BHAM), a London-based asset and fund management firm, has been fined £489,000 and banned from working in regulated financial services.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Taylor made ‘false and misleading statements’, including claiming to own a €200m (£171m) bond portfolio during his attempt to buy Reading Football Club in 2024, and an unnamed bank in 2023.

In July and August 2024 negotiations took place concerning a ‘proposed acquisition by BHAM of Reading Football Club’, the FCA said.

The FCA decision stated: ‘On 3 July 2024, Mr Taylor sent a letter to the owners of Reading Football Club, with a proposal for Blue Group and its subsidiary BHAM to acquire the entire share capital of Reading Football Club Group’.

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