By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Amanda Staveley potentially turning her attention to Everton could deliver a double-whammy knockout blow to West Ham supporters like myself who welcomed her interest in the club.
As I’ve written previously, my personal preference was for Daniel Křetínský to run West Ham alongside Staveley. The Czech billionaire has shown little appetite for owning more than 50% of the football club, while Staveley is a wily old fox of a football operator with an impressive CV, not least from helping to turn around an underperforming giant in Newcastle United.
However, there is an even less palatable by-product of PCP Capital Partners potentially turning their attention towards Merseyside.
West Ham could be lumbered with David Sullivan for some time yet.
Staveley was Sullivan’s obvious exit route
As Hammers News has reported, Everton are among the alternative football projects now being seriously considered by Staveley and PCP.
There is no suggestion of an offer or agreement at this stage, but it raises a pretty obvious question for West Ham.
Without wishing to bore everyone with a complete rewrite of recent history, having lost out on the opportunity to purchase Vanessa Gold’s West Ham shareholding, Staveley’s attention had turned towards David Sullivan’s stake.
Indeed, Staveley subsequently confirmed that her consortium’s original offer had actually been for both Sullivan’s 38.8% and Vanessa Gold’s 25.1%. As I wrote at the time, that demonstrated PCP wasn’t looking to become some passive minority investor. Staveley wanted control.
Sullivan, of course, had appeared to be on the ropes following the scathing Panorama documentary earlier this summer and his subsequent departure as West Ham chairman.
Claret & Hugh later revealed that Sullivan had been encouraged to resign his executive position by fellow shareholders. For many Hammers supporters, it felt like the beginning of the end.
Unfortunately, from that position of weakness, he seems to have made something of a comeback.
A Staveley scarper could result in David Sullivan staying at West Ham
Sullivan went from 38.8% to 40%
Rather than selling his West Ham shareholding, Sullivan increased it to approximately 40% during the redistribution of Vanessa Gold’s shares.
Those aren’t the actions you would ordinarily associate with somebody desperate to find the exit door.
There were some who suggested Sullivan was merely strengthening his position before eventually selling to Staveley. Increasing his stake would obviously increase the value of whatever he eventually sold, and a source close to Staveley told C&H earlier this month that her West Ham ambitions were not necessarily finished.
But if Sullivan was positioning himself for an eventual sale to Staveley, why the hell is the former Newcastle co-owner now looking at Everton?
That is the bit which worries me.
West Ham’s nightmare scenario
C&H has been specifically told that Sullivan will have no operational role and will not return to the West Ham board. That remains the information we have been given and there is no reason to suggest otherwise.
But no operational control does not mean no influence.
As we have previously explained, a 40% shareholding still gives Sullivan significant power in certain shareholder decisions. He doesn’t need to be sitting behind a desk at Rush Green or running recruitment to remain an important figure in the ownership of West Ham United.
And that is where Staveley’s possible Everton interest becomes particularly concerning.
The nightmare scenario isn’t simply that West Ham miss out on Staveley. It is that she moves on, PCP Capital Partners invest elsewhere and one of the most obvious potential buyers of Sullivan’s 40% disappears.
We could then be left with Křetínský owning approximately 46%, Sullivan sitting on around 40% and neither man showing any obvious inclination to take outright majority ownership of West Ham.
For supporters who hoped Sullivan’s resignation as chairman represented the beginning of the end, that would be quite some turnaround.
West Ham could lose Amanda Staveley to Everton.
Even worse, we could be left with David Sullivan.
You keep recycling the same propaganda with a different title. The Staveley deal is dead and always was.
PCP Capital Partners Advisory isn’t some massive Investment Bank or a Private Equity Investment Fund. It provides Staveley with a regulated vehicle to funnel other investors money into whichever project she is currently pursuing. PCP would never be an investor because ultimately it has no assets.
You say Staveley is a wiley old fox of a football operator with an impressive cv. That statement would suggest years of achievement? She was nominally the so called day to day manager of Newcastle FC for a few months! While the real shareholders employed professionals to run the the club (Eales and Ashworth).
The Sullivan situation is a separate issue entirely and I share your concerns there, but Staveley was never the answer to that problem.
Sadly, this site is not what it once was and it’s now time for me to stop reading it.
Totally agree with you Gonzo. If Staveley walks away it will be an opportunity missed. Let’s face it, Kretinsky is not a hands-on owner leaving Sullivan controlling the day to day running of the club from Board level. Staveley would have introduced new money and ideas giving the club a complete shake up to release its potential. Instead it will go on for years to come under the current regime most likely becoming a regular yo-yo club between the premier league and championship. Under a Kretinsky / Staveley ownership the club could be totally transformed to be a competitive top 8 club. Sadly it now seems this will not happen and we’re stuck with the Sullivans for years to come.
Please just give it a rest Gonzo, must be a slow news day. You keep posting your Staveley BS conspiracy theories like there is no other option. You havent even waited for the existing deal to be finalised and reported to companies house yet – If you carry on like this poeple are going to start to wonder if you are on her payroll.
Just give it a rest and concentrate on the football for all our sakes! This website is starting to become very repetative with its non stop backing of Staveley and what might have been. Just let it go, its over!
This website needs to get over the fact that she’s not buying the team. She sniffed around and didn’t get it. All of these stories are white noise. We’ve all moved on and just want to focus on football.
Taking a stake in West Ham with the aim of developing very high valued property around the London Stadium owned by the desperate to get rid of it Sadiq Khan, in an area already developed into high valued property, makes a lot of instantaneous commercial sense (and hopefully for us a football stadium)
Taking over the Freidkin stake in Everton, to subsequently develop the old dockhand owned by the Peel, in an area that looks like very low valued wasteland, makes a very VERY long term commercial sense — around 30 years at the earliest.
Staveley is an instantaneous creature, she wont go into a project, whilst very attractive, because it will take so long to get off the ground (the Westfield / surrounding area is already 25+ years down the line, from initial talks/development)
Use your head gonzo when west ham can’t get a player for the price they want what to they do?.pretend they are looking at a different player to try and get the price down. Its one of the oldest tricks in business.