Staveley consortium agrees to buy Gold family's 25.1% stake in West Ham after Kretinsky deal collapses

The agreement

Vanessa Gold, daughter of the late former West Ham United joint-chair David Gold, confirmed on Saturday that she has agreed to sell the family trust's 25.1% stake to a consortium led by Amanda Staveley, her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and PCP Capital Partners. The consortium also includes Chicago-based investment group Ashland, according to Bloomberg. The sale is subject to a pre-emption process that gives existing shareholders the right to buy the shares instead. Gold said she wanted to be open with fans about her intentions, even though the process has not yet concluded.

“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.”

A deal that fell through

The agreement with Staveley's group comes after a previously agreed sale to Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky collapsed. On 12 June, Gold and Kretinsky had agreed a deal that would have made his EP Group the single largest shareholder in West Ham. However, that transaction and other alternatives discussed since then could not be brought to fruition. Kretinsky is already a shareholder in the club, and the failed deal sets up a potential tussle over ownership, as Bloomberg noted.

“On 12 June, 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.”

West Ham's recent history

West Ham were relegated from the Premier League last season, just two years after winning the Europa Conference League in 2023. David Gold, who was joint-chairman, died in 2023, and Vanessa Gold stepped into a joint-chair and director role. She described her father's priority as always being to champion and protect the club, and said she has taken huge personal pride in continuing that legacy.

“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.”

Staveley's football pedigree

Amanda Staveley is best known for brokering the Saudi-backed consortium's takeover of Newcastle United in October 2021. She and Ghodoussi then oversaw the club's transformation from Premier League relegation candidates to Champions League participants. Gold expressed confidence that Staveley and her partners can bring deep experience to West Ham and help the club return to 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.”

Next steps

The sale remains subject to the pre-emption process, meaning existing shareholders can step in. Gold said she will continue to act in the club's best interests while the process proceeds. The consortium's entry could reshape the ownership structure of the London club, which is currently in the Championship.