Staveley Admits West Ham Share Acquisition Failure: Disappointed, but Ambition Remains

Staveley admitted that failing to acquire a significant stake in West Ham United left her “clearly disappointed”, but her ambition for the club has not ended.

In a statement, Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners said for the first time that its initial offer “was for David Sullivan’s 38.8 per cent stake and Vanessa Gold’s 25.1 per cent stake”.

The acquisition process and outcome

At the end of July, former Newcastle United co-owner Staveley reached an agreement with West Ham United co-chair Vanessa Gold to acquire her 25.1 per cent stake. However, this triggered a pre-emption rights process that allowed other shareholders to purchase the Gold family’s shares.

The outcome of the process saw Daniel Kretinsky become the largest shareholder, increasing his stake from 27 per cent to 46 per cent. Sullivan resigned as vice-chairman in June while facing allegations, which he described as “inconsistent with the facts and completely false”, and his stake increased from 38.8 per cent to 40 per cent.

PCP said in its statement: “We are clearly disappointed not to have successfully acquired a 25 per cent stake in West Ham United. For transparency, our initial offer was for David Sullivan’s 38.8 per cent stake and Vanessa Gold’s 25.1 per cent stake. Other shareholders always had the possibility of exercising pre-emption rights under the shareholders’ agreement, and that is exactly what they did.”

Staveley’s next step

Although Kretinsky is now the leading figure at West Ham United, Staveley and PCP retain their interest and ambition regarding the club. Staveley stayed in contact with the club and London Stadium throughout the summer and attended last week’s match in which the team defeated Wolves 4-2. She said in the statement that they would follow the development of the new era.

The statement said: “We will continue to closely monitor this process. Our ambition for the club remains, and we are willing to work constructively with the existing shareholders when opportunities arise.”

Staveley was a co-owner of Newcastle United from 2021 to 2024, when the Saudi Public Investment Fund led the acquisition of the club.