By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Since Amanda Staveley let the whole football world know that she wanted to take control of West Ham United, events have moved at a frantic pace. Yesterday was no different, with leaks from both the Staveley and Daniel Křetínský camps outlining how each plans to take control of the football club.
It appeared to be round two to Křetínský as he sought to purchase Vanessa Gold’s shareholding by matching the price offered by PCP Capital Partners. However, Staveley volleyed back with reports suggesting she would be willing to build West Ham a brand-new purpose-built stadium.
The Latest Ownership Twist
In this video, I look at Staveley’s reported attempts to purchase David Sullivan’s 38% shareholding, how Albert Tripp Smith could prove to be a key player in any eventual outcome and why the real estate surrounding the London Stadium could provide the ultimate motivation for acquiring the football club.
Is The Timing Right?
We’ll also discuss why, whilst this would ordinarily be exciting news for West Ham supporters, I can’t help feeling it has all come at the worst possible time, with the new season now almost upon us.
Ha ha ha ha ha
Yeah. Brisbane Road could do with a makeover and is ripe to be redeveloped.
Money money money.
Next project is to turn Buckingham Palace into a luxury resort hotel with underground parking and crazy golf in the garden.
Sunday Sport used to run stories like this.
Surely, as West Ham do not own the Lindon Stadium hiw are they going to afford to build a new Stadium whi h would cost £250 million minimum.
At least the London Stadium shows they have support for a 60,000 stadium. But so far none of the people involved in thd takeover can show the sort of money West Hzm need.
When did the 2 month clock that keeps getting mentioned, start to tick?
Kretinsky, Staveley will first and foremost do whatever is financially in their best interests……as did our previous idiots – Sullivan, Gold and Brady…… that’s why we ended up leaving Upton Park and now play our football in a rented athletics stadium…….. I hate the London Stadium and still live in hope that one day we’ll play in a purpose built football stadium…….but I’m not holding my breath regarding any promises or grandiose plans put before us
I’m not having this at all. This just sounds like say anything to get us on side. Frankly, I have as much trust in this woman as I do in the Orange-Faced Monster occupying The White House not to turn a press conference about child health into a rant about people calling the Reflecting Pool a botch job. She was the front for the Saudis when they took over Newcastle, and now she’s sniffing around our club? No thanks. Although Kretinsky is notoriously reticent, I’m more inclined to put my faith in him, who has been around the club a while and has an idea of us.
I personally believe Kretinsky is more in control of this situation than most realise. Apart from his proven business credentials he has owned Sparta Prague for over 22 years so it’s not like he doesn’t understand the working of a football club.
Staveley’s intentions are clear knocking down the stadium to build luxury apartments, and/or a hotel. This worries me and now we are in the Championship she could easily say we don’t need a big stadium and suddenly find ourselves with a small basic 25,000 stadium.
The issues I see are: 1: to maximise the property opportunity the stadium needs to be elsewhere, but there is no where suitable in the Olympic Park meaning places like West Ham Gas Works or Beckton/Royal Docks come into play assuming they can be bought cheaply and planning permission achieved. 2.Staveley is not very rich (£100m) and her stake in Newcastle was given to her by the Rueben Bros so she relies on fronting out business deals and then looking for backers to bring them to reality. The overpaying she is offering plus the cost of a new stadium eats right into the profits achieved through the property development. She may be offering too much. 3. UK athletics will never agree their giving up their lease which like West Ham’s is cast iron and can’t be amended and they won’t be bought out unless it’s silly money (comes back to point 2 about diminishing the profits) and they need the Stadium for 2029 World. Championships and next Olympic bid – ignore bluster from Burnham ioc members have made it perfectly clear any uk bid must be centred around London.
I believe this will drag on for more than 2 months but ultimately Kretinsky will take majority control and Staveley will move on to her next target- perhaps Charlton (currently up for sale) or elsewhere in UK like Southampton, but a Staveley win would be an absolute disaster for the Hammers.
P.s. I liked the video and initially thought it was the Chase, but the more I watched it the less certain I was!
“£100 million is not very rich’ just made me lol. Even though I know what you mean.
Yes, I mean relative to what’s needed to buy a top, tier football club
I think Gold and Sullivan have both done a deal behind Kretinskys back. Plan was to sell Golds shares to Stavely then Sullivan sell his shares to Stavely. Now what might happen is Sullivan takes up his option to buy his percentage of Golds shares which will take him to majority owner and then Sullivan sells his shares and his new percentage of Golds shares to Stavely.
That all depends on how the share transfer agreements are written; if there are further pre-emption clauses (‘first dibs’), then ownership can be channelled certain ways. That’s what G&S had in place for the current available crop after DG’s passing. DK’s recent push to sell a few just so his new first dibs shares don’t take him to 50+% will also be impacted, because the agreement might say that his number of new shares depends on his holding on the day of the sale, not of the offer.
The big question we should asking is ‘Why does no current shareholder want control?’, unless it would trigger a clause that obliged them to buy 100% of all shares.
That’s what the Icelandics did – compulsory purchased my shares to take control. All I got was an embossed share certificate of no value other than sentimental.
She’s making promises, Kretinsky is making promises, they both appear very good at telling people what they want to see – the reality?
They both want the land around the football club, and the football club is second.
Staveley has, at least, been honest about the fact that this is property investment.
The questions I’d ask both Kretinsky and Staveley are:
1. What size stadium are you proposing and where? (DK has said he’d rebuild the stadium, AS has said she’d build us a new stadium on the site)
2. What is the plan regarding training grounds?
3. How will the land purchase be funded (I.e will it be bought and financed by the club?)
4. Will the new stadium be given to the club?
5. Is the academy a long-term project for the club?
6. How do you intend to tap into the club commercial ability?
7. How long do you expect to own the club for? (I.e 5 years then flip, or is this long term)
I don’t expect either of them will not push to get us back to the Premier League, or support us in an attempt to do well, as I certainly think within 5 years we’ll be up for sale again and they’ll be hoping for a profit, but I’d just like them to be transparent with us.
Hold on. Where and when did she say she would build us a new stadium? She hinted there would be a “property play” but that doesn’t necessarily mean building a new stadium does it?
Shems not gonna spend a billion plus buying land
The. Spend another 2 billion building a stadium in it which would stop it being used for anytbing else
No this one has a successful business record of her own merit ,unlike Brady who to my mind hasn’t ever come up with any business venture of her own or at least one that is notable.
She went bust in 2008 btw
That was my first thought on the subject Gonzo, the timing is awful when she could have made her move just after relegation. It all seems a bit melodramatic to me, let’s hope it all calms down one way or another and we can concentrate on football. Typical West Ham I suppose! 😊⚒️⚒️
Funny was that a recording from Newcastle, new stadium, new state of art training facility, sounds good until someone has to pay to put a shovel in the ground, 100% she doesn’t have the money to do it so why doesn’t the person or person’s paying for all that tell us, or is it the usual waffle.
John in my opinion that is exactly what she is, just with more investors behind her mate.
The possible property deal is all that these people are really interested in and the sooner our West Ham family wake up to that the better. If she does get hold of us as with previous investments she will be gone within a couple of years but hopefully unlike with Newcastle she won’t leave up hopelessly in debt and breaking regulations.
yes Kris sounds like an another attempted land grab , as it was a couple/few years ago , and they’ve probably been tapping people up long before the share offer , very quick for sir mayor khan to pop up stating they’d gladly sell the stadium to the club (will a pound do like the millennium dome i wonder) , so if they’re offering to build us a new stadium elsewhere (presumably just off brisbane road) do they actually have any interest in the Hammers as a club or just the prime real estate that we’re playing on and the surrounding land area ? x
Lots and lots of promises. Sounds like Brady v2.