Documents made no reference to pitch works later added to £18m deal, with club spending £1.7m on upgrades
Wrexham AFC, the football club part-owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, used taxpayer funds to re-lay its pitch, even though initial grant documents assessing the state investment did not make reference to it.
The club has been awarded £18m in grants, with the first £3.8m tranche in February 2022. However, legally required state aid documents relating to that initial grant made no reference to the pitch works.
The Guardian recently revealed there were questions over whether the £3.8m grant was lawful, after the council acknowledged that, at the time of the award, it did not have a contract or a final assessment of whether the principles of subsidy control had been followed. The council had previously said “all due diligence and checks were in place ahead of the transfer of any funding”.
Reynolds and Mac bought the club in 2021 and have invested significant amounts in propelling them from the fifth tier of English football to a potential shot at promotion to the Premier League should they qualify for the Championship playoffs this month.
