As fans of West Ham might have read, former Newcastle United owner Amanda Staveley was recently asked if she was interested in investing and buying shares of the club. Her response:
“Maybe, you don’t know.”
Staveley, who was attending the FII conference in Rome, was asked by Spear’s Magazine if she was interested in owning another football club someday. She was asked specifically about West Ham. Additionally, Stavely said, “We’ve looked at a lot of clubs, including Tottenham, but we are looking at clubs around the Premier League and the UK, Europe. We really want to be buying, going in, and investing in a club again very soon.”
According to a club source, GSH has been told that Staveley would only be interested in coming into West Ham if she had an equal stake along with Daniel Křetínský, who just recently became the majority shareholder at West Ham and is now perceived as leading the charge to remove David Sullivan completely from the team. In order to do that, Křetínský would need to orchestrate a buyout of Sullivan’s shares himself or allow Staveley and her partner/husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, as well as their firm PCP Capital, to come in and become an equal stakeholder.
“What Mr. Křetínský doesn’t want is a bidding war to begin for [Sullivan’s] shares,” the source said. “He welcomed the idea of having Staveley as a partner in the club and on the board, but the eagerness to have equal equity has caused him to pause.”
The source added that the deal has also stalled most of the club’s business while he and his team huddle up and decide the best way forward. Additionally, while the source can confirm Staveley has visited The London Stadium, Křetínský and Staveley have not officially met in person to discuss what the deal could look like.
Buying out Sullivan’s 38.8% shareholding alone would not perfectly align their ownership percentages with Kretinsky's. The proposed plan involves a multi-party buyout. Staveley's group would acquire all of Sullivan's shares plus the necessary remaining fractional percentages from other minority board members to reach exact equality.
“They are both aware that Sullivan would just use this to drive up the price, so they want to come in and work together. If it's a fit, Staveley believes West Ham can be a big project,” the source added.
Back in Rome, Staveley continued to explain her ambitions. “I think both my husband and I were attracted to building a business where we can take a brand that isn’t doing so well, a club that isn’t performing well, get it on the right road and bring that forward,” she said to Spear’s. “There are very few clubs [where that can] work. If you want to tick every box, there’s actually very few clubs that allow that.”
Steve Nickson deal halted, connected to Staveley
Just a week ago, multiple reports confirmed that Newcastle United’s Director of Recruitment, Steve Dickson had agreed in principle on a deal that would make him West Ham’s new Sporting Director and have complete autonomy over transfers, recruitment, development, and oversee all operations, including having Nuno Espirito Santo report directly to him instead of Křetínský. While all reports seemed to point to an imminent announcement, it has now stalled because Nickson wants to be part of a project only if Staveley is coming in.
The club source says the two are not necessarily linked, but Nickson prefers a situation where there was as much familiarity as possible. “They are very complimentary of each other. [Nickson] believes coming in together would make the club even stronger,” the source said.
According to the source, Nickson has made it known to the board "with no disrespect to Křetínský," that he feels Staveley and Ghoudoussi joining the boardroom would open even more doors for West Ham. The duo have navigated the waters of the Premier League and EFL before and would not only come with funding but add tremendous value with their knowledge and resources.
In an interview in 2022, Staveley had this to say about Nickson: “Mehrdad and I and our colleagues went up to the club (Newcastle), and it was a lonely place. Fortunately, we have an amazing head of recruitment in Steve Nickson, who has been with the club for a long time and has deep knowledge of the player markets. So we were able to quickly put together a transfer committee.
Fast forward to last week and Křetínský echoes those comments and strongly feels that Nickson can immediately do the same and hit the ground running. Whether he believes Nickson. can be even more affective with Staveley's group at West Ham is another thought entirely but it has been confirmed that at least for now he is remaining patient and has fielded calls from other interested clubs.
Nickson enjoyed an incredibly successful working relationship with Staveley and Ghodoussi during their time together at St James' Park, but until the standoff between Sullivan, Kretinsky, and the Staveley-led consortium is resolved, West Ham's executive restructure remains completely frozen.
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