Ex-Newcastle owner Staveley in talks to buy West Ham stake

A consortium led by Amanda Staveley, the former co-owner of Newcastle United, is said to be 'close' to acquiring a 25 per cent stake in West Ham.

The Hammers were relegated from the Premier League last season and will now ply their trade in the Championship but that has not deterred interest from Staveley and her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, in buying into the east London club following their departure from Newcastle two years ago.

PCP Capital Partners, Staveley and Ghodoussi's firm, have held talks over purchasing the shares previously held by the late David Gold.

The Times claim that a deal for Staveley's consortium to acquire the 25 per cent stake from Gold's daughter, Vanessa, is close following talks.

Not only that, the report notes that if Staveley and Co are successful in their attempt to purchase a minority stake in the club then it could be followed by them presenting an offer for the shares owned by David Sullivan, which would give them majority control of the club.

Sullivan resigned as West Ham chairman last month in the wake of historic sexual allegations. A BBC Panorama investigation alleged that Mr Sullivan had preyed on women for sex. He has strenuously denied the allegations and said he will be launching legal action against the BBC.

Staveley's consortium is said to be backed by investors from the United States and the Far East who had initially considered bidding for one of West Ham's bitter rivals, Tottenham.

However, the consortium has designs on transforming West Ham's fortunes following relegation and there are plans to invest heavily in the playing squad.

There are also ambitions to purchase the club's much maligned home ground, the London Stadium; talks have even already been held with officials connected to the London mayor’s office.

Thought Staveley's consortium hope to buy into the club, pre-emption rights means that West Ham's other major shareholder, Daniel Kretinsky, has first option to purchase the shares ahead of external parties.

He and Vanessa Gold had previously released a joint statement in June saying the Czech billionaire, who owns a 27 per cent stake in the club, had agreed a deal to purchase some of Gold's shares to increase his standing to "approximately 43 per cent".