Amanda Staveley’s attempt to buy her way into West Ham United is over almost before it began. The financier, best known for brokering the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s takeover of Newcastle United in 2021, saw her agreement to acquire Vanessa Gold’s 25.1% shareholding matched by existing owners under a pre-emption clause written into the club’s shareholders’ agreement.
That mechanism, triggered earlier this month, left Daniel Kretinsky’s holding at roughly 46%, making the Czech businessman the largest single shareholder at West Ham. David Sullivan’s stake rose from 38.8% to 40%, while American investor Tripp Smith moved to 11%.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the deal collapsed, Staveley confirmed on Friday that PCP Capital Partners had originally wanted a far larger slice of the club than the Gold family stake alone.
“We are obviously disappointed not to have been successful in our bid to acquire the 25% shareholding in West Ham,” she said in a statement first published via journalist Alan Nixon.
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“Our original offer was for both David Sullivan’s 38.8 per cent stake and Vanessa Gold’s 25.1 per cent stake in the club.”
Staveley acknowledged that the shareholders’ agreement always gave the sitting owners a route to shut PCP out.
“There was always the potential that the other shareholders would take up their rights under the shareholders’ agreement, which is what they have elected to do.”
The door left ajar
“We will continue to follow this process closely,” she said.
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“Our ambitions for the club remain, and we would be open to the opportunity to work constructively with the existing shareholders in the future.”
She told The72 that PCP “saw real potential to make a positive difference, rejuvenate the club” and help West Ham compete at the highest levels of English football.
The Newcastle blueprint she wanted to repeat
Staveley’s interest in West Ham was built on a template she has already run once. In October 2021 she fronted the consortium that delivered Newcastle United to the Saudi Public Investment Fund, taking an initial 10% stake in the club alongside PIF and the Reuben Brothers. Eddie Howe was appointed a month later, and within two years Newcastle were back in the Champions League.
Her exit came in July 2024, when PIF and RB Sports and Media bought out PCP Capital Partners’ shareholding and Staveley and husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi departed the boardroom. She has been searching for her next Premier League project ever since.
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West Ham looked like a plausible fit. The club were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2025/26 season, Karren Brady has stepped down from the board, and Sullivan’s day-to-day role has narrowed. Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, retained despite relegation, is now four matches into a promotion campaign.
Instead, Kretinsky, who first bought into West Ham in 2021 and owns Royal Mail parent International Distribution Services, has consolidated control. Staveley said PCP Capital Partners would continue to follow the situation and remained open to working with the current shareholders in the future.
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