Gold family agree to sell West Ham stake to consortium led by Amanda Staveley

Vanessa Gold, daughter of former ​ West Ham chair David Gold , has reached an agreement to sell her family's shares in the club to a consortium led by Amanda Staveley , the former co-owner of Newcastle . The Gold family trust owns 25.1% of the shares in the Championship club, who were relegated from the Premier League last season. “I have now reached ⁠an agreement to sell my ​family's ⁠shareholding to a consortium of PCP Capital Partners , led by Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, in partnership with ⁠Ashland Forest Capital Partners,” Gold said in a statement ​on ⁠Saturday. “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.” David Sullivan is the club's biggest shareholder, with 38.8%. Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, through 1890s Holdings, owns 27% ⁠and would have become the majority shareholder had an agreement to buy a 16% portion of the Gold family's shares gone through. “On the 12th June Daniel Kretinsky and I agreed a sale ... unfortunately, since that time the original deal and other alternatives that we have discussed could not be brought to fruition,” ‌Gold said. A spokesperson for Kretinsky released a statement in response which read: “The agreement we had reached with the Gold family in June provided stability for the club at a crucial time. Today's announcement does the opposite. “We will always act in the best interests of West Ham United and are reviewing all of our options, including exercising our pre-emption rights in full.” Staveley and her firm PCP Capital Partners ​had played a key role in helping Saudi Arabia's ‌Public Investment Fund (PIF) take over Newcastle in 2021, with the businesswoman and herhusband Ghodoussi shareholders until 2024. “The Consortium will ⁠bring deep experience and understanding of what it takes to lead a successful ‌football club, and ​I have every confidence in ‌what they can bring to ​West Ham,” Gold added. David Gold was joint chairman of the Hammers for 13 years alongside business partner David Sullivan. Gold died in 2023. Reuters