Kretinsky poised to become West Ham's biggest shareholder

Kretinsky is set to increase his share to 43 per cent, exceeding the current 38.8 per cent owned by David Sullivan, who resigned as joint chairman last Saturday after being informed that historic allegations of misconduct were about to be published.

Kretinsky and Vanessa Gold, who inherited her father David Gold's interest in the club when he died in 2023, said in a joint statement that the move will strengthen the Hammers' bid to make an immediate return to the Premier League.

• Police contacted with new information about David Sullivan following 'serious historic allegations'

The statement read: "We have reached an agreement on the key terms of a share purchase transaction between the Gold family and 1890 Holdings [part of the broader group EP], which, subject to other shareholders' pre-emption rights and necessary approvals, would make 1890 Holdings the largest shareholder in West Ham with an approximately 43 per cent stake.

"As the largest shareholder, group EP will be able to provide the additional financing the club needs.

"We expect to finalise this transaction in the next couple of weeks. Once the agreement is complete, group EP and the Gold family have also agreed to vote jointly on key matters and to support the strategy targeting an immediate return to the Premier League."

Sullivan denies the allegations made against him by BBC's Panorama and The Times newspaper, and has indicated that he intends to sue.

Kretinsky and Gold say they are "deeply concerned" by the allegations, and reiterated the club's previous claim that they were only made aware of them a month ago when Sullivan himself notified the board.

They also said they had only recently been informed that Sullivan has faced restrictions on his contact with the club's women's and youth teams since 2023 as part of an ongoing safeguarding investigation by the Football Association.

The statement continued: "We were deeply concerned by the revelations made by The Times and Panorama this week and our thoughts go out to those women who have fought so hard to make their voices heard.

"Any abuse of power is abhorrent, and it takes great courage and determination to speak up against it.

"The full West Ham United Board was not notified about these allegations against Mr Sullivan until approximately a month ago, when he informed us that certain allegations against him may be published.