Daniel Kretinsky could form a pact with some of West Ham’s smaller shareholders in order to effectively become the club’s outright owner, says football finance insider Kieran Maguire.
Kretinsky is in the process of purchasing additional shares from Vanessa Gold, which will take his overall shareholding in the club from 27 per cent to 43 per cent. That will make him West Ham’s largest shareholder, surpassing David Sullivan, but it does not give him an overall majority.
Amid pressure from the media, fans and – potentially – the Independent Football Regulator, Sullivan is exploring the possibility of selling his shares. Amanda Staveley, the financier who engineered the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s takeover of Newcastle United, is reportedly interested.
Therefore, West Ham, now a Championship club following relegation on the final day of the Premier League season in May, could be sucked into a power struggle if an agreement cannot be reached among shareholders and would-be buyers.
Given that the Hammers need to raise in the region of £100m in player sales, slash operating costs and reassemble their corporate structure, they cannot afford to be paralysed in the boardroom.
Speaking exclusively to HITC, Professor Maguire, who lectures in football finance at University of Liverpool, says that one option available to Kretinsky is to rope in Albert Tripp Smith, who owns about eight per cent of the club, in order to establish a voting majority.
“Initially, Kretinsky wanted to become joint-senior owner alongside David Sullivan. But given that Sullivan’s focus is elsewhere, this is an opportunity from which Kretinsky will take advantage.
“In terms of his power, a lot will depend on whether he can get some form of pact with fellow shareholders, perhaps getting the likes of Albert Tripp Smith to vote in alignment with him at all times. That way, he would effectively have more than 50 per cent control, which would allow him to dictate the operations of the club.
“That could be beneficial because he might be able to use some of his other financial resources to fund the club.
“West Ham have significant outstanding debts due to other football clubs for transfers. Where’s that money going to come from? Maybe Kretinsky can deliver that.
“He now has an elevated profile from other significant investments, like the Royal Mail. So he might be able to use West Ham to promote his own brand. If that leads to success on the pitch for West Ham, everyone is a winner.”