A consortium led by Amanda Staveley has reached an agreement to buy a 25.1% stake in West Ham after Vanessa Gold, daughter of the former chair David Gold, agreed to sell her family’s shares in the Championship club.
- Daniel Kretinsky deal collapsed, meaning a prior agreement to sell could not be completed and alternatives were not brought to fruition.
- Vanessa Gold reaffirmed commitment to her father’s legacy and confirmed the sale remains subject to a pre-emption process for existing shareholders.
- Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi previously brokered Newcastle’s Saudi-backed takeover and helped lead the club to Champions League and Carabao Cup success.
The move by the businesswoman who helped lead the Saudi consortium takeover of Newcastle comes after a previously agreed sale to fellow shareholder and Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky fell through.
The Gold family trust owns the 25.1% stake in West Ham, who were relegated from the Premier League last season just two seasons after winning the Europa Conference League in 2023. However, current shareholders will also be presented with the chance to buy out the Gold family under an ongoing process.
Gold said in a statement: “As the daughter of David Gold, it was a great honour to step into a joint chair and director role at the club following his passing in 2023. Whether as a youth team player, a lifelong fan or an owner, my father’s priority was always to champion and protect this great club. Over the past three years I have taken huge personal pride in continuing that legacy and will always be hugely grateful to the staff, players and fans who allowed me to do so.
“On June 12, Daniel Kretínsky and I agreed a sale that would have made EP Group the single largest shareholder in West Ham. Unfortunately, since that time, the original deal and other alternatives that we have discussed could not be brought to fruition.
“In light of this, I have now reached an agreement to sell my family’s shareholding to a consortium led by Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and PCP Capital Partners. This sale remains subject to a pre-emption process, under which existing shareholders have the option to buy the shares instead.
“While the process has not yet concluded, I wanted to be open with our fans about where things stand and my intentions. My ambition throughout this process has been to ensure the club has the right leadership and ownership to enable West Ham to achieve its potential and return to its rightful place in the Premier League.
“Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and PCP Capital Partners will bring deep experience and understanding of what it takes to lead a successful football club, and I have every confidence in what she and her partners can bring to West Ham. While the sale process proceeds, I will continue to act in the club’s best interests, as my father did and would expect of me.” Staveley brokered the deal which allowed a Saudi-backed consortium to buy-out then Newcastle owner Mike Ashley in October 2021, and she and Ghodoussi oversaw the club’s rise from Premier League relegation candidates to Champions League participants and, after their departure during the summer of 2024, Carabao Cup winners.
The Hammers dropped out of the top flight at the end of last season and will begin the process of attempting to secure a swift return at Burnley on 16 August.
