The Times newspaper has made a very worrying claim about West Ham United co-owner Daniel Kretinsky in a new report.
West Ham announced Czech billionaire Kretinsky had become the club’s second biggest stakeholder a year ago next month.
The excitement among West Ham fans was palpable given the businessman has a net worth four times that of existing fellow West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold.
Kretinsky is man with access to £700m every year to use purely for investments and is a leading figure in a £15bn empire built by the deceased father of his partner.
The ‘Czech Sphinx’ paid a reported £150m for 27 per cent of West Ham last November and it was predicted his arrival would allow the Hammers to go bigger and better than before in the transfer market.
A barren January saw doubts raised over his ambition and intentions.
But an unprecedented £170m splurge on eight quality signings in the summer has extinguished any flames of discontent.
West Ham’s billionaire co-owner, who has big stakes in the likes of Royal Mail and Sainsbury’s, has made a fortune snapping up unloved assets.
As reported by Hammers News earlier this month, Kretinsky recently launched a series of big money French media moves after buying a £37m castle near Paris.
But now The Times has made a very worrying claim about West Ham co-owner Kretinsky in a new report.
The British power plants empire of “Czech Sphinx” Kretinsky has been plunged into turmoil as the spike in wholesale gas prices triggers painful cash calls, claims The Times’ Jamie Nimmo.
The report states that Kretinsky is now best-known for his role as West Ham co-owner. But most fans will know the bulk of his serious business clout comes from the energy industry – which is front and centre in all our lives at the moment amid the cost of living crisis.
The Times reports that Kretinsky’s EP UK Investments has confirmed its debts due to be repaid within 12 months have surged to £2.3 billion in the last year.
“Soaring commodity prices forced it to borrow large sums from its Czech parent company to meet margin calls,” The Times reports.
“Pre-tax losses jumped to £226 million due to mark-to-market movements on its forward hedges.
“The surge in wholesale prices left a number of European companies exposed as they had to stump up extra funds to cover payments related to hedges — a process known as margin calls. These occur when the gap between the current market power prices and the price at which producers have sold their output grows too wide.
“A spokesman for EP UK Investments insisted that the mark-to-market moves would reverse this year as the hedges were delivered at the contracted price.”
Football finances are a drop in the ocean compared to the levels of debt documented in the report.
There is nothing to suggest West Ham would be negatively impacted as a direct result of Kretinsky’s current business ‘turmoil’.
But there will obviously be concerns that long-term damage to Kretinsky’s wealth could have a domino effect unless the landscape dramatically improves.
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