West Ham’s ownership has been thrown into a state of confusion following the agreement made between Amanda Staveley and Vanessa Gold, with ExWHUEmployee explaining the current state of play.

With much attention now on the club and with a period of instability set to continue, our insider has taken to The West Ham Way Patreon (as below), to explain the situation as it stands and what the process ahead looks like.

After news broke that Vanessa Gold had accepted an offer from Amanda Staveley, Vanessa went on to make a statement to the mainstream press via email.

Vanessa Gold said: “On 12 June, Daniel Křetínský 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.

In light of this, I have now reached an agreement to sell my family’s shareholding to a consortium of PCP Capital Partners, led by Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, in partnership with Ashland Forest Capital Partners.

This sale remains subject to a preemption process, under which existing shareholders have the option to buy the shares instead. While the process has not yet concluded, I wanted to be open with our fans about where things stand and my intentions.”

The club made their own official statement at 6 pm yesterday, adding that:

“West Ham United can confirm it is aware of the announcement from Joint-Chair Vanessa Gold that she has reached a provisional agreement to sell her shares to a consortium of PCP Capital Partners, led by Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, in partnership with Ashland Forest Capital

Partners.

The proposed transaction will now be subject to a pre-emption rights process.

This provides all existing shareholders with the opportunity to acquire their proportional percentage of shares in round one, and any remaining shares in round two. This process will take approximately two months and, until it is completed, nothing will change regarding the ownership structure of the Club.

West Ham United would like to assure supporters that the day-to-day running of the football club is in no way affected by this situation. Preparations for the new season continue to take shape with diligence and focus, and we thank all fans for their continued loyal backing at this time.

The Club will be making no further comment while the pre-emption process runs its course.”

So what does that all mean?

In the next 30 days (round one)

So in round 1, David Sullivan could buy 51.8% of 25.1%, which works out 13%

Daniel Kretinsky could buy 36% of 25.1%, which is just over 9%

Tripp Smith could buy 10.68% of 25.1%, so 2.68%

Terry Brown and Daniel Harris are left with 1.47% of 25.1%, so 0.37%

Round two will also last 30 days, unless no one takes up shares in round one, allowing anyone who purchases shares in round one to buy any remaining shares in round two in order of how many shares they already hold.

For example, if Daniel Kretinsky purchases the maximum 9% in round one and is the only shareholder to do so, he could purchase the remaining 16.1% in round two, therefore leaving nothing for Amanda Staveley and her

group.

Sources close to the club have confirmed these calculations and stated that this process does not affect the summer transfer budget or any proposed incoming transfers.