Hammers To Use 'Small' Share Issue To Pay For New Players

Finally true to their word, the Hammers hierarchy have been dragged, mewling and puking, towards becoming a 'professionally run' football club by adroit pressure being applied by manager Manuel Pellegrini and head of recruitment Mario Husillos. The acquisition of Pablo Fornals and Sebastian Haller is a hugely significant statement from the club that along with other shrewd acquisitions might just see West Ham break in to the top six of the Barclays Premier League.

Fornals and Haller will end up costing circa £75 Million before wages, a massive investment, but both are young and will be on relatively low wages compared with others at the London Stadium. They join Felipe Anderson and Issa Diop as young talented sought after players who have seen their value double already since being recruited by El Pel and the Huse, they also brought in the 'economy' buy of the season in the form of the General Fabian Balbuena. Added to the likes of Jack Wilshere, Manu Lanzini and Andrily Yarmolenko who were unavailable virtually all season through injury, and there is the foundation of a terrific squad that also features Declan Rice.

Never before, even during the 'biscuit baron's profligacy that was erroneously handled by Eggert Magnússon, have West Ham had such a valuable squad of players tied down to lengthy contracts, but there is obviously a cost. No matter how creative the 'bean counters' are at the London Stadium certain hard choices had to be made in order to drag the club up to the next level.

Obviously certain players needed showing the door, but the level of investment that the club is having to make is going to require a bit more than tidy house keeping, the co-owners could put more money in to the club in the form of loans, but recent FFP changes make that almost impossible on the 'robbing peter to pay paul' principal. The only other option to balance the books is by a limited 'share review'.

We asked the venerable football accounts wizard, Richard Thornley, who has been involved with several high profile clubs, to explain the gobble de gook surrounding inbound investment on a corporate level. Currently the owners of West Ham are David Sullivan (51.1%) David Gold (35.1%) Albert 'Tripp' Smith (10%) Other Investors (3.8%) Tripp Smith was instrumental in building out Blackstone Group LP’s biggest business as a co-founder of GSO Capital Partners, before leaving the firm and is incredibly well connected. His name was linked with a possible buy out or serious investment in the club by the late Paul Allen co-founder of Apple Inc.

On top of her £898,000 salary, West Ham United paid Baroness Brady £438,000 via her company BKB Media Ltd for work in connection with the sale of ten per cent of the club to the American billionaire Albert “Tripp” Smith last year as the club's registered accounts confirm. If Tripp was to acquire more shares they would come from a share release funded by shares from David Gold in order for David Sullivan to retain over half the shares.

The money received by the club would be 'written' aside, eventually the money received from share sales would be returned to the original seller, but with a compound interest charge attached. Essentially the seller of the shares actually loans the money received for them back to the club with the first option of re-buying the shares, this may sound convoluted but it is exactly the sort of business practise that Tripp's company specialised in.

It is well known that the terms for buying the London Stadium outright, and the amount of monies being paid back to the public purse, dramatically change in 2023 to the club's benefit which is when there might be a massive inward investment. This may explain why the co-owners are pushing the boat out ahead of that year, by investing in young talent they will hopefully end up with a squad, and later on, a ground truly fit for purpose.

It's been a 'long time coming', sang Crosby, Stills and Nash at Woodstock, well it's been an even longer time coming to West Ham United football club! - Ed