Kieran Maguire issues verdict on Amanda Staveley sealing 'discount' West Ham takeover

For many West Ham supporters, the relationship with the GSB regime is beyond repair.

That is why, when it emerged that Daniel Kretinsky had engineered a clause that would allow him to take full control of the club at a set price, many were excited by an impending change of ownership.

But the Czech billionaire, who owns around 27 per cent of West Ham, has so far not exercised his right to become the club’s majority shareholder.

And with the 49-year-old currently preoccupied with takeovers of the Royal Mail and Atos, it seems overwhelmingly likely that his priorities are elsewhere at present.

However, with a chunk of equity owned by Vanessa Gold – daughter of the late David Gold – still up for sale, a part-takeover may be on the cards at some point soon.

Club vice chair Karen Brady was recently sent to the Middle East to court investment.

Although that trip is not believed to have yielded any results, it does indicate that the current regime are still open to a shakeup behind the scenes.

However, it is something of a saturated mergers and acquisitions in the Premier League at present.

Crystal Palace’s John Textor is looking for a buyer for his shares, while Tottenham are seeking minority investment and Everton are a year into their own protracted takeover saga.

To get to the bottom of where West Ham stand amid these developments, TBR spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author Kieran Maguire.

Could Amanda Staveley invest in West Ham?

It came as a shock when it was announced that director and minority shareholder Amanda Staveley would leave Newcastle United.

Staveley was the public face of the takeover that saw the Saud Public Investment Fund take over the club in 2021 and has been instrumental in raising commercial and matchday income on Tyneside.

Now, a report from Bloomberg claims that she has raised £500m through investment vehicle PCP Capital Partners for another Premier League investment.

Tottenham are on Staveley’s radar, while Everton has also been mooted as a potential destination.

But what about West Ham?

“West Ham would be a nice fit for Staveley,” Maguire said.

“My concern is, how much money has she received for her stake in Newcastle and how much of that has gone to repaying the people who lent her the money in the first place?

“She is much better as a facilitator and making her money on that basis than she is at day-to-day operational activities. Although, she is very good as the public face of the club – there is no doubt about that.

“But she doesn’t have the resources to put into the club that fans want. Fans want sugar daddies, and she hasn’t got the means for that.

“She is good at introducing people and getting people around the table.

“If that’s how she wants to make her money, it is a strength she should stick with rather than getting involved herself, unless it is as a minority shareholder as she was at Newcastle.

“As far as Vanessa Gold is concerned, I don’t think there is any interest in the club from her.

“David Gold was a West Ham man, but I don’t think there is necessarily interest from the rest of the family.

“You also have the issue of David Sullivan owning a minority stake, plus Kretinsky sitting in the background. Trying to work out his strategy is very difficult.

“You have to wonder what would be in it for a minority shareholder.“

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How will Everton’s takeover affect West Ham?

When the Everton takeover saga finally ends, there will be a number of disappointed parties.

Around 10 parties have been reported to have lodged their interest in the debt-saddled club, whose enterprise value is around £600-800m.

However, Maguire suggests that West Ham would represent a logical next step for any investors who fail in their bid to buy Everton.

“I think there would be a lot of overlap in terms of the investors looking at Everton.

“Both clubs have a lot of positives. For Everton, the stadium is nearly complete. For West Ham, it is complete. They can sell out 50,000 or 60,000.

“You also wouldn’t be buying at the same kind of revenue multiple that you would in the Big Six, so you can get the clubs at a discount.

“If you are an ambitious owner, within whatever constraints we will have going forward in terms of cost controls, anyone who is ambitious has a club which has a high ceiling.

“There are parallels between Everton and West Ham. What we have at present is that an awful lot of investors with an awful lot of money chasing very few football clubs.

“Therefore, some of them are going to be squeezed out at Everton. They are therefore going to be looking for alternatives – and that could be West Ham.

West Ham’s commercial appeal

Amid the takeover talk, West Ham are on the lookout for a new front-of-shirt sponsor.

Their long association with Betway will soon come to an end as a result of the Premier League’s ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship.

It was suggested that Betway could migrate to shirt sleeve or training kit partner, or potentially even still have a presence as a naming rights partner for the London Stadium.

However, The Sun have reported that West Ham have decided not to continue their relationship with the firm because of their role in Lucas Pacqueta’s football ban.

Betway have now struck a global partnership with Man City.

Maguire suggests that a cryptocurrency partner could be the next step for West Ham, in keeping with the strategy pursued by a number of clubs.

“I think West Ham have got a lot of plusses as a commercial partner.

“They are in London. They can leverage the brand. We have seen Birmingham leveraging the Peaky Blinders brand, for example.

“For West Ham, their brand is similarly attractive.

“On the back of that, they are probably looking at £10-12m per year from Betway. There aren’t that many competitors at that level.

“Could West Ham go down the crypto route? That is an industry which is popular with the demographic that watches football.

“With the Man City deal, you have the digital route which is very efficient. You can also leverage the multi-club operation.

“The people in the gambling world will circumvent the front-of-shirt ban with ease.”