West Ham are haemorrhaging a staggering £250,000 per day and now football finance expert Kieran Maguire has addressed a claim the club may go bust.
When Daniel Kretinsky announced he was to become West Ham’s majority owner by purchasing an additional 16 per cent of the club, the relief among fans was palpable.
The move came in the wake of David Sullivan’s resignation and ahead of his expected sale of his own 38.8 per cent share in the Hammers.
West Ham’s finances were in such a poor state, the club needed to raise £90m by the end of June to avoid financial sanctions.
Hammers losing £250k per day and £7m per month
Kretinsky bought 27 per cent of West Ham for £150m back in November 2021.
That values the Hammers at £5.6m per share. So Kretinsky’s move to buy 16 per cent – when more was available to him via the Gold family stake or indeed Sullivan’s share – was very deliberate, as it equates to precisely £90m.
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In the official announcement about Kretinsky becoming the club’s new majority owner, the Czech billionaire made it clear that the injection of cash from him increasing his holding to 43 per cent had plugged the financial hole that needed to be filled by the end of next week.
The ‘Czech Sphinx’ has since vowed West Ham do not need to sell players for financial reasons and to back Nuno Espirito Santo with funds to get the club back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating when it comes to Kretinsky’s promises.
But the fact of the matter is the Hammers are still bleeding cash at an alarming rate – a situation only worsened by their relegation to the Championship.
West Ham are making a staggering loss of £250k every day.
That has forced football finance expert Kieran Maguire to address a claim that West Ham may go bust with their £7m monthly leak.
Maguire addresses claim West Ham may go bust
Author of the brilliant Price of Football book and co-host of the podcast of the same name, friend of Hammers News Maguire says West Ham’s situation is unprecedented given the size of the club being relegated.
But he has moved to reassure Hammers fans it is ‘highly unlikely’ the club will go bust with Kretinsky at the helm.
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“This West Ham conversation, I think, is so, so interesting because I don’t remember a club of that size, in that scale getting relegated to the Championship,” Maguire told The Room Where It Happened podcast.
“I mean, is there a situation where they could go bust?
“I think it’s highly unlikely because of the sale of the players and that will generate short-term cash.
“I think Kretinsky – and they have other wealthy supporters – will prevent that from happening. So, I think that’s highly unlikely.”
Despite that assurance from one of the top brains around on football finance, the level of losses West Ham are making highlights how poorly run the club has been under the previous regime.
Record £104m losses are expected to be followed by further £80m plus losses in the club’s next accounts – not allowing for player sales.
Sullivan and Karren Brady resigned leaving the Hammers in more debt than when they first arrived in 2010, with the duo and David Gold telling anyone who would listen that they had saved West Ham from administration.
Now Kretinsky must ensure he makes good on his promises to West Ham supporters. Not least because he has been on the board during the club’s demise and must disassociate himself from the previous regime.
The fanbase is scarred from 16 years littered with broken promises and false dawns.
The energy tycoon needs to harness the enthusiasm around his usurping of Sullivan and co and run with it. The best way to do that is sticking to the pledges he has made and ensuring West Ham United are well run and return to the big time immediately.
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