West Ham ‘WIN £3.6m court battle against their London Stadium owners’… as judge rules in favour of the club due to ‘two manifest errors’
- West Ham paid stadium owners £2.6m after Daniel Kretinsky bought his stake
- The stadium owners’ expert determination for an extra £3.6m was overruled
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West Ham are set to be repaid £3.6million after winning a court battle against their London Stadium owners, a report has claimed.
The Hammers, who moved to the venue in 2016 after it was used for the London Olympics four years prior, were obliged to make a £6.5m payment as part of their lease agreement with E20 Stadium, the body used by publicly-owned company London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to manage the stadium.
A London Assembly member branded West Ham’s initial lease agreement the ‘deal of the century’ as it benefitted the club to such an extent.
The terms of the agreement included a 10-year clause, expiring in 2023, that detailed how LLDC were entitled to a payment after any stake in the club had been sold.
According to the Times, West Ham initially paid LLDC £2.6m after Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky bought his 27 per cent stake in the club in 2021.
Kretinsky, who last month was approved by the Government as the new man in charge of the Royal Mail, acquired his stake for £169m.
West Ham are set to be repaid £3.6m after winning a court battle against their stadium owners
The club moved to London Stadium in 2016 after it was used for the Olympics four years prior
West Ham paid LLDC £2.6m after Daniel Kretinsky bought his minority stake in the club in 2021
LLDC won an expert determination for an additional £3.6m, which was paid to E20 in March 2023, after claiming that the initial £2.6m was not enough.
West Ham’s parent company WH Holding (WHH) launched a court appeal to challenge the £3.6m under the stadium lease penalty clause, which was added to the agreement so that any increase to the club’s value that occurred because of the move to London Stadium would be reflected in the fee.
The High Court has now ruled that the expert determination contained ‘two manifest errors’, meaning that West Ham will be repaid the £3.6m sum unless LLDC appeals.
According to deputy High Court judge Paul Mitchell KC, the expert made a mistake by viewing all the share transactions and share options made by West Ham’s co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold, who passed away in 2023, as a singular transaction.
‘In my judgment WHH has proved that the expert determination in this case contains two manifest errors. Accordingly, I shall grant the declaration sought by WHH that the determination is not final and binding on WHH,’ he said.
The judge added that he would also impose an order on costs should no agreement be met between the club and their stadium owners.
A spokesperson from LLDC said in response to the ruling: ‘West Ham appealed the determination, as it is entitled to do, and the court has found in its favour.
‘We have reviewed the judgment and are currently assessing our options — including the potential for an appeal.’
LLDC won an expert determination for an extra £3.6m, which was paid to E20 in March 2023
The court ruling is a huge boost for West Ham’s owners – including David Sullivan (above)
The London Stadium’s owners will view the ruling as another heavy blow after a sustained period of financial losses.
E20 Stadium Group’s latest accounts for the 2023-24 financial year showed a huge loss of £14.3m.
