Why West Ham fans are not happy as David Sullivan poised for £65m windfall
Today at 01:10 PM
The relationship between West Ham supporters and David Sullivan is fractious at the best of times, and recent developments have ensured there will be no reconciliation any time soon.
Sullivan remains the club’s largest single shareholder, with Daniel Kretinsky giving no indication that he intends to up his 27 per cent stake any time soon.
Despite West Ham‘s relative success in recent years under now-former manager David Moyes, many fans still feel promises have been broken by the board relating to the move to the London Stadium in 2016.
Those issues have been amplified after the Hammers’ stuttering start to the season under Julen Lopetegui, with his side having picked up just five points from their opening seven matches until the 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday.
But supporters’ main frustrations are focused on events away from the pitch and training ground – and the latest news from Sullivan’s camp proving to be particularly contentious.
Sullivan wants £65m for valuable property asset; fans fume over soaring ticket prices
Karren Brady, West Ham’s vice-chair, values the club at around £800m and the club’s strong financial performance in recent years makes them an attractive investment prospect.
Sullivan’s 38.8 per cent stake in the club would therefore be worth around £310m, which is around a quarter of his reported net worth of roughly £1.2bn.
However, the 75-year-old businessman has told Bloomberg that he been forced to slash the asking price for another asset in his portfolio, a six-storey house in Marylebone, by £10m to £65m.
Sullivan has blamed the price cut on the new Labour government’s crackdown on non-doms for the lack of interest in the property.
"I'm selling it at a loss now, but you have to be realistic,” he said.
"I also think what the government is doing to the non-doms isn't very nice, and a lot of rich people are leaving the country as a result of what they anticipate in the budget. Three or four of my friends already have gone to Monaco or Dubai.”
His stance has sparked fury among some West Ham fans, who believe that the billionaire’s words are somewhat tasteless given recent developments at the club.
The gradual phasing out of concessionary ticket prices at the London Stadium, couple with rising prices across the board, have led several supporter groups to launch fresh protests against the board.
How significant really is matchday income for West Ham?
West Ham have previously suggested that the Premier League‘s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) mean that raising prices at the London Stadium is a regrettable necessity.
But the Hammers have been one of the most profitable clubs in the Premier League in recent years, although granted it is a low bar.
Any PSR problems they do have are negligible, and fans have also pointed to the outsized impact that price rises have on less well off supporters compared to their benefits in terms of PSR.
In 2022-23, the last financial year on record and one in which they won the Europa Conference League, West Ham earned £41m in matchday income.
For context, their total revenue was £237m.
