By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
West Ham’s shareholders’ decision to exercise their right to take up their full quota of Vanessa Gold’s shares in the first round of pre-emption demonstrated their intent to lock Amanda Staveley out of control of the football club.
And it would seem such was Daniel Křetínský’s desire to make a deal which did not include PCP Capital Partners that working with David Sullivan was deemed preferable to working with Amanda Staveley.
At this point, it’s difficult to understand what motivation he might have had.
Perhaps the fact that Staveley wanted overall control of the football club was the deciding factor.
But it does seem odd that Křetínský would go into partnership with Sullivan, whom he had sought to distance himself from as recently as June.
Indeed, Claret & Hugh revealed at the time that Křetínský and his fellow shareholders had encouraged Sullivan to resign as chairman in an attempt to distance the football club from the fallout surrounding him.
West Ham board sought to distance themselves from Sullivan following the Panorama documentary
Shareholders United To Keep Křetínský In Control
As was made clear to Claret & Hugh earlier this evening, there was a unified decision from Sullivan, Daniel Harris, Tripp Smith and Terry Brown to ensure Křetínský had the largest shareholding and, as a result, stop Amanda Staveley from gaining any form of control over the football club.
The shareholders have made their choice.
Where I believe they may have badly misjudged the situation is in assuming many West Ham fans will find the outcome cause for celebration.
Whilst Křetínský might prefer to have David Sullivan as his partner, a Staveley and Křetínský axis is infinitely preferable to many West Ham fans who moved heaven and earth to try and get Sullivan out of the football club.
Now his position as a shareholder has actually strengthened although West Ham insist he does not have operational control.
Staveley Offered Supporters Something Different
In many respects, one of the chinks of light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel was that the club could go on to bigger and better things under Staveley, who had proven her ownership credentials during her time at Newcastle United.
She certainly wasn’t presenting herself as somebody interested in becoming a silent investor.
Reports suggested Staveley wanted to pursue ownership of the London Stadium if her West Ham investment succeeded, potentially opening up possibilities which supporters have discussed for years.
She even turned up to watch the Hammers against Wolves this week and cheered the team on, with C&H subsequently learning that she had attended as Vanessa Gold’s guest.
Instead, West Ham’s existing shareholders have closed ranks and chosen the status quo.
Křetínský remains in control and Sullivan remains a major part of the ownership structure.
Not Everyone At West Ham Will Be Celebrating
It is worth pointing out that this would have been a very, very difficult situation for a lot of people who work at West Ham, many of whom would not have favoured this particular outcome.
Ultimately, the shareholders were entitled to exercise their pre-emption rights and they have done exactly that.
They have also seemingly decided amongst themselves that Daniel Křetínský remaining the dominant shareholder represents the best way forward for West Ham.
That’s their decision.
But they shouldn’t assume West Ham supporters will be celebrating with them.
Obvious why Kretinsky is siding with Sullivan, it’s the old pals act isn’t it. Kretinsky is returning the favour. It was Sullivan who allowed Kretinsky to buy into the club in the first place.
It seems to me that Daniel Kretinsky is very much committed to West Ham. He had Bowen flown to Prague and persuaded him to stay along with the manager. The fact that Bowen has spurned offers to leave shows he trusted Kretinsky to follow through with getting control. The fact that Sullivan initially increased his holding to 51% was because of the way the allocation of shares bought under the pre-emption process worked. Sullivan had almost half of the shares that were not Gold’s – they seem to have each bought shares in the 25.1% to equal to their existing proportion. So Sullivan’s quota brought him up to 51%. But it must be that he and the others had agreed to sell to Kretinsky so make him the major share holder. West Ham’s articles of association contained, and still contain, pre-emption rights so if Staveley comes back with an offer to buy Sullivan’s and Smith’s shares it seems the remaining shareholders will have first refusal and can buy enough to thwart her.
If think having Kretinsky, who has been on the board for five years, in charge is promising. He has over twenty years experience with Sparta Prague and is an astute businessman; Staveley is a front for a middle eastern and US private investment group consortium. To quote Hilaire Belloc, “…always keep a-hold of Nurse, or fear of finding something worse.”
Yes Kretinsky has done a fantastic job taking us to the heights of the championship hasn’t he.
The consortium Stavely represents are not interested in WHUFC as a sporting investment. It’s a real estate venture which requires ownership of WHUFC to make it happen.
Kretinsky probably knows these people and doesn’t trust them.
We know from Kretinsky’s involvement in Sparta Prague that he’s in it for the football club.
He also knows Sullivan, in business terms, better than anyone commenting on this deal on this site.
As long as Sullivan isn’t in executive control his owning shares isn’t a problem and it’s potentially better than the alternative.
Yes Kretinsky has done a fantastic job taking us to the heights of the championship hasn’t he.
Real estate investment is what we want and need. New stadium etc. a world class stadium with a world class team. All the things that Brady promised.
Any deal involving US Venture Capitalists is a bad deal. They have no interest in the game or the club; their sole interest is to make a profit and take that out of the club. DK was always our safest option.
100% ☝️
And if the business is successful it means West Ham is probably successful so what’s the problem.
Motivation?
Stability and sustained long-term planning might be playing a big part.
Perhaps Staveley turning up at last match was a step to far regarding PR exercise.
Staveley and Gold friendship outside football was this a coincidence.
Maybe Ketinsky wasn’t to happy to them making deals behind his back.
As well documented it’s not about football for any of them it’s how much they can make.
Similar to players loyalty is very low on the scale and £££’s become over whelming factor.
As for Sullivan there’s only one way he’s going to be gone_!!!!!!
“Where I believe they may have badly misjudged the situation is in assuming many West Ham fans will find the outcome cause for celebration.”
And you think they give a damn because……?
Sullivan wasn’t going to sell so there wasn’t an option to oust him. Hopefully we’ll get promoted and Kretinsky can offer him a decent price then. Crucially it seems he won’t have any executive role in running the club, he’s now simply an investor. Also, we don’t know whether Staveley would have been a good owner anyway. Six months ago we Sullivan and Brady running (or ruining) the show … they’re not any more … that sounds like a good outcome to me.
I am not sure how this is good news for Sullivan – I would have thought his interests would be best served by having two other shareholders who would be interested in getting their hands on his shares should they become available, even if he had no immediate plans to sell – in the longer term This may prove to have been short sighted.
Can’t say I’m unhappy I can’t help but think how newcastle could not afford to buy AFTER she sold out I am not convincied that she wanted west ham OR the money that the land/shops around the arena could get her ALL about the money for her not the badge
100% , TURNING UP TO WOLVES DOESNT MAKE HER WEST HAM , ££££’S ARE HER FIRST LOVE.
Kretinsky chose his own best business interests. Sullivan was useful in achieving that. His interests were directly opposed to Staveley’s – who would have done exactly the same thing given the opportunity.
Kretinsky bought into the club when Sullivan was in situ. Not necessarily his choice and not much he can do about it unless Sullivan chooses to sell.
It seems to me, Gonzo, you’re saying that you prefer Staveley’s vision for the club to Kretinsky’s. Fair enough. I have no way of knowing. You’re better informed than me but its not personal as regards Kretinsky/ Staveley. It’s just business. I think they both see value in a successful WHU.
How would we know?
Yes exactly. This isn’t anything particularly surprising – it’s a bunch of shareholders getting the best value for their asset. They may well all still sell but for sure felt the price offered to Vanessa Gold was lower than they could get by acting together. How if Stavely wants in, her consortium is negotiating with a selling group that has strength. This may put them off entirely but they were always going to have to buy a lot of shares that way to take control rather than just get the 25%.
Real estate investment is what we want and need. New stadium etc. a world class stadium with a world class team. All the things that Brady promised.
Utter nonsense. No one knows who Staveley is fronting for and sadly you have fallen for her turning up and cheering and mention of a new ground. All she wants is the land and has interest in the club
I dont see how you conclude Křetínský at this stage has chosen Staveley over Sullivan. Staveley had no rights here whilst Sullivan did and Křetínský was totally in the hands of the other shareholders to decide what they wanted to do.
Their decision has been to hold the balance of shares and therefore, Křetínský in part has to fall in line with them (not just Sullivan).
If down the line Staveley and her PCP partners can come to an arrangement to fund a development that would give us fans the stadium we want, and all of them a huge profit from a Wembley Stadium car park style development, then we are all winners.
To me, so long as Sullivan is kept well away from any influence, and Křetínský can get on and fund West Ham as he has promised, then that’s for our benefit
Kretinsky chose his own best business interests. Sullivan was useful in achieving that. His interests were directly opposed to Staveley’s – who would have done exactly the same thing given the opportunity.
Kretinsky bought into the club when Sullivan was in situ. Not necessarily his choice and not much he can do about it unless Sullivan chooses to sell.
It seems to me, Gonzo, you’re saying that you prefer Staveley’s vision for the club to Kretinsky’s. Fair enough. I have no way of knowing. You’re better informed than me but its not personal as regards Kretinsky/ Staveley. It’s just business. I think they both see value in a successful WHU.
How would we know?
AS wanting to buy shares whilst we are not in the Prem was to max out her return on investment ahead of returning at some point.
It’s the same reason Sullivan and Tripp have taken up the option to maximise future profits.
Nothing has really changed as Sullivan stepped down from the board and relinquished control of the club.
Ownership could potentially change upon regaining Premier League status if AS wants to pay a higher price and buyout Sullivan and Tripp.
Not really surprised by what has unfolded.
I still believe this is part of a bigger plan. Why did Smith increase his holding too? I think both he and Sullivan see the opportunity to acquire more shares now and will then sell to Staveley at a higher price. Watch this space.
Really…. To me its a very smart move and how the world works. There is absolutely NO knowledge of whether Stavely & Co would have been good for the club so the Kretinsky haters need to have a rethink. Sullivan is done, the regulator will force him to sell. Kretinsky will buy but just no longer at Sullivan’s top dollar premier league rate.
So, Kretinsky will own 80%+, Sullivan 0% which everyone wanted and PCP/Stavely who knows whether it might have been good or not…..but I’m thinking NOT she was only interested in the stadium & the land
No Simon, the Kretinsky haters do not need to re-think. We will continue to judge Kretinsky based upon his promises and subsequent failure to deliver. What Staveley might have done is secondary. We have a leader who has let us down at every turn, who has used player sales and season ticket money to clear debt whilst keeping his own hands firmly in his pockets. Whilst we cannot be sure of Staveley’s intentions, we can see clearly that Kretinsky is driven by personal greed. He has done nothing to deliver positive change at our club. “Sully Mk 2”
You are talking absolute rubbish, Kretinsky’s plans and the failure to deliver were based on his agreement with Gold being completed. The moment she backed out of the deal and entertained Staveleys offer meant that DK and his £90 million investment to cover debts and the transfer budget werent going to happen. Without that investment due to Gold accepting Stavelys offer, player sales were what covered the debts and a small transfer budget. There is no way he invests £90 million if he isnt the major shareholder, and on top of that Gold gets to sell all of her shares eleswhere for a hell of a lot more. Maybe if you looked deeper into it you would see how that situation was created by Gold and Stavely and not Kretinsky.
Staveley and Gold between them ruined any chance of the extra £90 million Kretinsky investment and between the pair of them ruined any chance we had of a good transfer window. With the way things happened I consider that we didnt do too badly considering how they dropped us in it.
So many people got taken in by that Borson story whiich was just spin created by PR savvy Stavely to avoid any fan backlash. The real person at fault is Gold for backing out of the original deal so she could sell her whole shareholding at a massive increase in price. Borson was attempting to blame Kretinsky for the delay saying he didnt have the money, to cover the fact that Gold backed out of the original deal to accept Stavelys offer.
That alone meant who ever bought her shares would still have to pay the same price as Staveley had offered, so was a win win for Gold.
Lets hope after having to out maneovre Gold and Staveley that this becomes the starting point for Kretinsky to come good, as all his previous plans of stabilty and whats best foe WHU were dashed the moment Gold Agreed to Staveleys offer.
COYI
Until this week DK was not the individual with significant control. You’re judging him for being a leader when he didn’t have the power to make executive decisions.
It’s comparable to renting a house and holding the previous tenants for the problems with the property. Owners are responsible and until now, Sullivan was that guy not DK.
Kretinsky has been an awful owner, he has no interest in the club at all.
Sullivan likewise, this was our one and only chance to become a properly run club with proper owners.
The fans need to show their dissatisfaction with our corrupt owners.
Kretinsky doesn’t even bother to attend matches, he’s useless and god knows how Sullivan, a sex offender is allowed to run a football club, what the hell is the football regulater even there for 😡
You dont half talk some rubbish mate. Are u on the Stavely pay roll now? That woman would have wrecked West Ham. Its easy for you to sot there and pump out article after article saying how she was the new dawn, but she wasnt a majority share holder at Newcastle, so had no real power at all. She was just a shareholder the same as Sullivan is with all the decision making power laying elsewhere. I’m one who is celebrating she got blocked, and if thinhs go full circle, I’m waiting for the IFR to force sullivan to sell his shares. The IFR had no power to block hom bidding and purchasing them, but they do have the power to force him to sell. Hopefully thats what comes next. Kretinsky has circum navigated all the issues forced upon him by the Gokd sale and I dont get how you are blaming him for all this when you should be blaming Gold for going back on her agreement.
I do t think that’s the case. DL would rather be only one to buy the shares. The other shareholders have seen an opportunity to make money. Buy at AS rates and sell to DK immediately for profit. DK had no control over other shareholders rights as soon as they took up option he had to pay more. He has been screwed over.