Stefan Borson: This is how West Ham takeover would impact their financial situation
West Ham United’s owners agreeing a takeover deal wouldn’t drastically improve the club’s financial situation.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the Hammers already have “very wealthy owners” at the London Stadium.
David Sullivan is the largest shareholder at West Ham, while Daniel Kretinsky and Vanessa Gold also hold sizeable stakes in the club.
The Irons’ board have come under fire from the fans in recent years following calls for senior figures to leave.
West Ham are facing financial challenges off the field, while Nuno Espirito Santo’s side currently sit third-bottom in the Premier League table.
Why takeover deal doesn't fix West Ham 'problem'
West Ham released their latest accounts towards the end of February, showing their revenue dropped from £270million in 2023-24 to £228m last season.
Meanwhile, the Hammers recorded a pre-tax loss of £104m despite posting a £57m profit the previous year.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed whether a potential takeover would improve the financial situation at the London Stadium.
“I think there are two parts to that,” said Borson.
“First of all, a takeover doesn't solve the operating financial problem and the compliance financial problem. All it does is put a new owner in place to subsidise the losses.
“The reality is they've got very wealthy owners already, so I'm not sure it particularly fixes the problem to put new owners in place.
“It may be that the ownership structure is simplified by one of the current consortium of owners that they have buying more or buying out the other.
“But I don't see that as being a fix ultimately to the underlying trading of the company.”
Why new West Ham owners would face financial limitations
Borson insisted new owners would be limited to what they can do with West Ham if they are relegated to the Championship this season.
“The underlying trading of the company will be dictated by where they are, which league they're in, how they perform commercially, what they sell to sponsors, what they do in terms of their cost base, and that's independent of who owns them,” said Borson.
“I mean, clearly new owners might bring in new skillsets, but there's a limit to what any operator of West Ham is going to be able to do if they are a team in the Championship. They're going to have issues.
“I don't think that change of ownership fixes anything at West Ham, aside from making the fans feel probably a bit better.”
West Ham’s next fixture sees them take on Man City at the London Stadium on Saturday (14 March).