At a time when West Ham are actively looking for new investment a US consortium wants in on east London.
There is an air of uncertainty around West Ham United at the moment.
The Hammers have been making it very clear to anyone who will listen that their finances are precarious this summer in terms of PSR.
The Hammers have braced fans for £80m losses on the horizon in their next set of accounts.
West Ham’s owners even brought forward season ticket renewals by two months – complete with unprecedented perks attached to encourage early renewal by the end of March.
With that as a backdrop, rumours then emerged that the club’s second biggest stakeholder – and one of the richest owners in the Premier Legaue – Daniel Kretinsky is thinking about selling up at West Ham.
Uncertainty in corridors of power at West Ham
Kretinsky purchased a 27 per cent stake in the Hammers in November 2021.
But there have been claims the Czech billionaire, who has a net worth of over £13bn, is getting restless after being snubbed in a bid to increase his stake.
There have even been reports he is keen to pull out of West Ham and invest in another Premier League side – allegedly Crystal Palace.
West Ham issued a coy response to the Kretinsky claims last week, with other board members saying ‘it is a question for him not us’.
The Gold family announced they are open to offers for their stake in West Ham back in October 2023.
The Times previously claimed Vanessa Gold may actually be willing to sell the entire 25% shareholding in the Hammers and that ‘other investors have been sounded out’.
It was also reported that there was interest from the Middle East and America.
The announcement on the Gold family shares was made 17 months ago but nothing has transpired as yet.
New investment into West Ham is one way to generate funds with the club having already borrowed against and used all £69m of transfer fees owed to them.
So logic suggests if a consortium led by an American millionaire is looking for an opportunity to invest big in a football team in east London, that would be the Hammers.
US consortium will invest big in east London club but it’s not West Ham
No such luck it seems.
Because a US consortium with an American football plan will invest big in an east London club but it’s not West Ham.
The Guardian has revealed a group of sport, media and tech investors, led by the TV executive David Gandler, is closing in on buying a majority stake in West Ham’s neighbours Leyton Orient.
Tech and sports entrepreneur Kit Hawkins and Neil Leibman, an executive at the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball franchise, have also had talks about joining the consortium.
It has been claimed establishing an American football franchise in east London is also part of the plan.
Tottenham have proved just how valuable it can be to secure an NFL franchise – raking in over £6m per matchday they host at their stadium.
West Ham’s London Stadium is ideal for for such a setup in many ways given the size of the stadium and the space on either side of the playing surface.
Yet the group of wealthy US investors are turning to Leyton Orient instead with a plan to actually attach an American football team to its base to play in the ever-growing European League of Football.
Gandler has been a shrewd football investor in recent times too.
He is fronting the bid having sold a 17% stake in Paris FC – from whom West Ham signed Mohamadou Kante – earlier this season as part of a takeover of the Ligue 2 club by France’s richest person, Bernard Arnault.
New stadium, training ground and American football part of Orient takeover plan
Gandler is a former Warner Bros executive and the founder and chief executive of fuboTV, a streaming platform that broadcasts European football in the US, Canada and Spain.
Even more galling for West Ham is that the consortium’s plans are also said to include a new stadium and training ground for Orient with sights ultimately set on the Premier League.
West Ham fans have long bemoaned the club’s training facilities and have called for the owners to keep up with their rivals by investing in a state-of-the-art complex.
Now League One neighbours Leyton Orient might get one before them.
The net worth of the investors runs into the hundreds of millions according to web resources.
So this may be a big opportunity missed for the Hammers, particularly given the uncertainty over Kretinsky and the fact the Gold shares remain unsold.
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