Kretinsky agrees to become largest West Ham shareholder
Developing story first seen 4 hours ago
Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech businessman who owns Royal Mail, has struck a deal to become West Ham United's largest shareholder with a 46% stake, in an agreement that effectively ends Amanda Staveley's immediate hopes of investing in the club. The deal was reached with West Ham's remaining shareholders, including former chairman David Sullivan, over the 25% stake previously held by the Gold family, after a complex pre-emption rights process was triggered ahead of a deadline.
Sullivan's own stake will rise from 38.8% to 40% as part of the arrangement, even though he resigned as chairman in June while pledging to fight allegations made against him in a BBC Panorama and Times investigation. Vanessa Gold had initially agreed to sell part of her holding to Kretinsky before instead striking a deal to sell her entire stake to Staveley, which triggered the pre-emption clause; major shareholder Tripp Smith will meanwhile increase his stake to 11%, with remaining shareholders holding 3%. The Independent Football Regulator confirmed its enquiries into Sullivan's suitability under ownership rules remain active, though this is not expected to trigger further scrutiny, and none of the parties involved have commented.
- Kretinsky agrees deal for 46% West Ham stake, becoming top shareholder
- Deal effectively blocks Amanda Staveley's investment hopes
- Sullivan's stake rises to 40% amid ongoing regulator enquiries into him
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Daniel Kretinsky is a Czech billionaire best known in Britain for owning Royal Mail. West Ham United, the Premier League football club, has been searching for new investment after years of fan frustration with its current ownership, led by David Sullivan and David Gold's family, who took control of the club in 2010.
Ownership of the club had become tangled up in a battle for a 25% stake previously held by the Gold family. Two rival bidders, Kretinsky and financier Amanda Staveley, both wanted to acquire it, triggering a legal mechanism called pre-emption rights, which gives existing shareholders first refusal on shares being sold, effectively deciding who could buy in.
The outcome matters because it determines who holds power at a major Premier League club and how much influence Sullivan, whose conduct is already under scrutiny from football's Independent Football Regulator, retains going forward. It also closes off, for now, Staveley's attempt to build on her previous ownership role at Newcastle United by investing in West Ham.
Full account
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is on course to become West Ham United's largest shareholder after reaching an agreement that will lift his holding in the Championship club to 46%. The arrangement, struck with the club's existing shareholders including former co-chairman David Sullivan, centres on the roughly 25% stake held by the Gold family and appears to have shut out businesswoman Amanda Staveley, who had been trying to buy into the club.
The situation stemmed from a change of heart by Vanessa Gold, who had initially agreed to sell part of her holding to Kretinsky after allegations against Sullivan became public, before instead agreeing in July to sell her entire stake to Staveley, a former Newcastle United director assembling a consortium to join West Ham's board. That switch activated pre-emption rights allowing the club's other shareholders to match any outside offer, with reporting indicating the window to exercise those rights closed on a Thursday evening deadline. Sullivan is said to have earlier turned down an approach from Staveley over the summer, privately favouring a continued relationship with Kretinsky, who first invested in the club in November 2021.
Under the resulting deal, Kretinsky's existing holding rises to 46%, overtaking Sullivan to become the club's biggest shareholder, while Sullivan's own stake grows from 38.8% to 40%, leaving him second-largest. American investor Tripp Smith's share increases from around 8% to 11%, and the remaining smaller shareholders collectively move up to about 3%. With shareholders having taken up their pre-emption rights, Staveley's group is understood to have little realistic prospect of reviving its bid for the Gold family's shares.
The reshuffle comes against the backdrop of Sullivan's departure as chairman and director in June, after a joint investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme and the Times reported allegations from several women accusing him of abusing his position over a period stretching back decades; Sullivan strongly denies the claims and has said he intends to contest them. He has continued attending West Ham matches despite no longer sitting on the board. The Independent Football Regulator has confirmed its enquiries into Sullivan's suitability under its ownership rules remain active, though this latest share transaction is not expected to prompt any additional scrutiny. Kretinsky, Sullivan, the Gold family and West Ham itself have all declined to comment publicly on the arrangement.
Where outlets differ
The BBC includes the Independent Football Regulator's statement confirming its ongoing 'suitability' enquiries into Sullivan; the Guardian does not reference the regulator at all.
The Guardian gives more granular detail on the allegations against Sullivan (seven women, claims dating to the 1980s and 90s) and on the pre-emption process (a 5.30pm Thursday deadline, Staveley attending West Ham's 4-2 win over Wolves), whereas the BBC's account is more general.
The Guardian specifies Kretinsky's stake was rising from around 27% and notes he first invested in West Ham in November 2021; the BBC does not state his starting percentage or acquisition date.
The BBC frames the deal as likely ending Staveley's 'immediate hopes', while the Guardian is more emphatic that there is 'unlikely to be a way back' for her consortium.
The Guardian adds that Sullivan privately rebuffed a direct approach from Staveley over the summer and preferred dealing with Kretinsky — a detail absent from the BBC report.
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