West Ham takeover: Kieran Maguire makes ‘major’ Daniel Kretinsky claim after meeting
Daniel Kretinsky’s shares in West Ham can now be considered a controlling stake after a ‘major’ Premier League change.
Finance expert Kieran Maguire spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the changes in ownership rules in the Premier League following the latest round of voting.
As reported by The Athletic last Thursday (30 March), Premier League clubs have approved a number of changes to the Owners’ and Directors’ Test following a meeting of shareholders.
The test is in place to help the Premier League ensure that any potential owners are fit to run a football club, with one of the most prominent changes this week being that no one connected to human rights abuses can become an owner or director.
But another change voted on was lowering the ‘controlling’ threshold for an owner from 30 per cent down to 25 per cent.
West Ham shareholder Kretinsky bought a 27 per cent stake in the Hammers back in November 2021 – a stake that could now be considered controlling under the new rules should David Sullivan – who owns 38 per cent – sell his shares to have less than Kretinsky.
Football Insider sources revealed last month (6 March) that Sullivan will make a decision on whether to quit West Ham and sell his shares in the summer.
Maguire explained the impact of the changes on Kretinsky at the London Stadium, but insists the Czech businessman has ‘nothing to fear’.
“One of the major changes in the recent Premier League meeting that I found interesting was that the threshold was decreased from 30 per cent to 25 per cent,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“Therefore this could impact on the likes of Daniel Kretinsky at West Ham, who I believe owns 27 per cent of the Hammers.
“But thankfully he has nothing to worry about or fear as he has a broad range of investments to fall back on such as Sainsbury’s and the Royal Mail!“
In other news, Kieran Maguire makes ‘big’ West Ham claim after London Stadium purchase twist