The death of West Ham United’s co-owner David Gold is expected to hasten a full takeover of the club by fellow shareholder Daniel Kretinsky, a billionaire from the Czech Republic, once a windfall tax clause expires in March.
Gold, 86, has died after a short illness and his 25 per cent shareholding is expected to pass to his family. His daughters, Jacqueline and Vanessa, followed him into business — they are chief executive and managing director respectively of Ann Summers and Knickerbox Ltd — but, unlike the children of Gold’s fellow co-owner David Sullivan, have not been part of the running of West Ham or board members of club companies.
Kretinsky bought 27 per cent of the shares for £150 million in 2021 and in August last year appointed his close adviser Jiri Svarc to the board of the club’s holding company. The club’s annual report revealed last week that West Ham’s vice-chairwoman Baroness Brady received a one-off £1 million bonus on top of her £1.24 million salary for securing his investment.
The shares owned by Sullivan and the Gold family will almost certainly be retained until March when they will no longer be liable to pay any share of the profits from the sale of the club to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), which owns the London Stadium.
An agreement signed with the LLDC in 2013 made the West Ham co-owners liable to pay a windfall tax to London council taxpayers if they sold the club in the following ten years. The agreement was on a sliding scale but would have made them liable to pay 20 per cent of any sale over £300 million.
Advertisement
The clause was inserted by the LLDC as part of the deal which allowed West Ham a 99-year lease on the London Stadium for just £2.5 million a year, given that the deal would immediately increase the club’s value.
Sullivan and Gold bought 86 per cent of West Ham for a total of £86 million, so the families stand to make a large profit, though they have also loaned money to the club and taken on extra debt. Should the club be sold to Kretinsky for about £600 million — based on the cost of his initial stake — then the Gold family and Sullivan stand to make a £300 million return on their investments.
