West Ham Owners’ ‘Marriage Of Convenience’ Could End With Staveley Takeover

West Ham’s ownership saga has taken another interesting turn following comments from former football executive Christian Purslow, who believes Daniel Křetínský and David Sullivan could eventually sell the club to Amanda Staveley once the Hammers return to the Premier League.

Speaking to football journalist Henry Winter on The Football Boardroom podcast, Purslow described the relationship between West Ham’s two principal shareholders as a “marriage of convenience” and questioned why the previously announced agreement to purchase Vanessa Gold’s shares has still not been formally completed.

Regular readers of Claret & Hugh, and indeed viewers of Hammers Chat, will not be particularly surprised by any of this. I’ve been describing Sullivan and Křetínský as business partners for some time, and the possibility of Staveley eventually returning to the negotiating table is something we’ve discussed at length.

Sullivan And Křetínský’s West Ham Partnership

Purslow’s comments came during a fascinating discussion with Henry Winter about West Ham’s ownership situation, prompted by the dismissal of Nuno Espírito Santo and the appointment of Scott Parker.

The former Liverpool and Aston Villa chief executive suggested that Sullivan and Křetínský may have very little in common, but they share one overriding ambition: getting West Ham back into the Premier League as quickly as possible.

That, according to Purslow, is enough to keep their working relationship together, even if their longer-term ambitions for the football club are different.

And frankly, I think he’s absolutely right.

Ever since the agreement was reached for Křetínský to purchase the bulk of Vanessa Gold’s shares, with Sullivan increasing his own holding from approximately 38.8% to 40%, I’ve referred to the pair as business partners. Indeed, Claret & Hugh reported last month that a club insider had specifically described their relationship as a “joint partnership”.

I appreciate that this might be uncomfortable for some West Ham supporters to hear, particularly those who hoped Sullivan’s departure from his executive position would signal the beginning of the end of his involvement.

But let’s be fair, a man who wants less financial involvement in a football club doesn’t ordinarily increase his shareholding. Whatever anybody thinks of Sullivan, the proposed arrangement would leave him owning approximately 40% of West Ham, and that’s hardly the behaviour of somebody desperate to walk away immediately.

Why Has The West Ham Share Deal Still Not Been Completed?

What I found particularly interesting was Purslow questioning something we’ve also discussed repeatedly on this website. Why has the agreement to increase Křetínský’s shareholding to 46% still not been formally completed?

The arrangement was announced back in September, with the existing shareholders exercising their rights to purchase Vanessa Gold’s stake and subsequently agreeing to redistribute shares. As our original investigation into the transaction explained, the process was designed to leave Křetínský as West Ham’s largest shareholder, Sullivan on approximately 40% and Tripp Smith on around 11%.

Yet here we are in November, and the anticipated confirmation of the completed transaction has still not arrived. Purslow admitted he found that puzzling and wondered whether the agreement might have encountered difficulties, although he was careful to acknowledge that he did not know whether that was the case.

I completely agree with him that the delay is odd, although I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest the agreement has collapsed. In fact, when Claret & Hugh last enquired, we were assured that there were no problems with the transaction and that completion was expected soon.

Nevertheless, there is another important point here. Křetínský indicated that he would engage with supporters once his increased shareholding had been finalised, and we’re still waiting for that conversation.

Given the importance of the proposed ownership changes, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for supporters to expect some clarity about when the transaction will be completed and what the future structure of the club will look like.

Could Amanda Staveley Return To Buy West Ham?

Perhaps the most fascinating part of Purslow’s analysis concerned Amanda Staveley, who previously attempted to purchase the Gold family’s stake before the existing shareholders moved to prevent her from acquiring it.

Purslow suggested that once West Ham have secured promotion to the Premier League, both Sullivan and Křetínský could decide that the time is right to sell the entire football club. He also identified Staveley as a possible buyer, pointing to her previous interest, the work she has already undertaken examining the club and her ambitions for the London Stadium.

His assessment was particularly interesting:

“I have a feeling Amanda Staveley might well reappear because she would be the natural buyer for the whole club.”

Now, this is obviously Purslow’s prediction rather than confirmation of any agreement between the shareholders and Staveley. But I have to say, it’s a scenario I’ve considered entirely plausible for some time.

I’ve never fully believed that Staveley had gone away completely. For somebody who appeared so determined to purchase a football club, there has been remarkably little public indication of her pursuing another opportunity since her attempt to buy into West Ham was blocked.

Of course, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been exploring other possibilities privately. But we already know she has shown a serious interest in West Ham, and Claret & Hugh previously revealed that discussions had taken place over the possibility of her acquiring Sullivan’s shares if the Gold family route proved unsuccessful.

Purslow also raised the question of valuations. He suggested Staveley’s previous proposal valued West Ham at around £600million, while Sullivan has historically placed a considerably higher value on the club. Promotion would clearly change the financial picture, making a potential sale more attractive than it would be while West Ham remain in the Championship.

Promotion Could Change Everything At West Ham

The suggestion that Sullivan and Křetínský are effectively working together until West Ham secure promotion makes a certain amount of sense to me. Both have an enormous financial interest in the club returning to the Premier League, and that shared objective could be enough to maintain their partnership regardless of any differences between them.

It also puts the appointment of Scott Parker into an interesting context. Having backed Nuno to lead the promotion campaign during the summer, the shareholders have now agreed to change direction and appoint a manager with three Championship promotions on his CV.

Purslow clearly believes promotion could become the catalyst for something much bigger than another managerial change. His suggestion is that the two principal shareholders might eventually decide to cash in, potentially creating the opportunity for Staveley to return with a proposal to purchase the whole club rather than simply a minority stake.

Whether that happens remains to be seen, and there is certainly no evidence of an agreed sale. But I find it difficult to dismiss the possibility, particularly given everything we’ve already been told about the relationship between Sullivan and Křetínský and Staveley’s previous determination to get involved.

For me, the most revealing aspect of Purslow’s comments is that he has independently arrived at a number of the same questions we’ve been asking for months. Why is the share transaction taking so long? What exactly is the relationship between Sullivan and Křetínský? And has Amanda Staveley really disappeared from the picture?

I suspect we haven’t heard the last of any of those three questions.