Claret & Hugh has learned of an issue with the Gold family’s shares in West Ham, which could be holding up any potential sale of the club.
As reported earlier this week, preliminary discussions had taken place regarding the shareholding of former joint-chairman David Gold, which was bequeathed to his daughter Vanessa. The Gold family hold 25.1% of shares in the club, and it is understood that an investor prominent in another sport held talks over buying the stake.
However, those discussions never reached an advanced stage, with multiple reasons cited for the interested party walking away. Speaking to C&H this afternoon, a source with inside knowledge revealed a key stumbling block.
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“The Gold family did not put all of their shares up for sale, only 15% of West Ham’s shareholding,” the insider claimed.
“The issue is that anyone with less than 20% doesn’t get a vote on major decisions. So any buyer would effectively be investing without any real influence on club policy.”
Who will spend £100m to be powerless?
It appears this issue is at the heart of the stalled talks, with the source concluding: “I can’t see the Gold shares selling any time soon. Why would anyone bother?”
Indeed, the prospect of spending over £100m without the capacity to influence the direction of the club is proving unappealing. It leaves the Gold family in a position where they may be unable to sell part of their stake and could eventually be forced to relinquish all of it.
Had Daniel Křetínský opted to buy the available 15%, he would have become the club’s largest shareholder—but as C&H previously reported, he has no desire to do so.