William John Storey

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, and in July 2020 claimed to be part of a consortium who were trying to purchase Sunderland Association Football Club,[1][2] though the Roker Report say the claim does not "stack up",[3] and the club CEO Jim Rodwell refused to comment upon his involvement.[4]

He was educated at the Russell School in Petersham and then at the Tiffin Boys School in Kingston upon Thames, and then studied math at St Andrews University, and 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.[5][6] He founded a sports management company, William Storey management, though many of his filings at Companies House describe him as a 'Computer Consultant', and he traded for many years as 'Tryfan Technologies', an IT consultancy.[7] He managed the boxer Frank Buglioni,[8] 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.[9][10]

In 2019, Storey was a defendant in a case brought by Whyte Bikes against Rich Energy for copyright infringement.[11] In finding against Storey and his co-defendants, the judge said that he was not a "credible or reliable witness" and that "He had a tendency to make impressive statements, which on further investigation or consideration were not quite what they seemed."[12]