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Profits soar for billionaire West Ham co-owner Daniel Kretinsky after a financial update from Northern Ireland this week.
West Ham announced Czech billionaire Kretinsky had become the club’s second biggest stakeholder a year ago next month.
The excitement among West Ham fans was palpable given the businessman has a net worth four times that of existing fellow West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold.
Kretinsky is man with access to £700m every year to use purely for investments and is a leading figure in a £15bn empire built by the deceased father of his partner.
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The ‘Czech Sphinx’ paid a reported £150m for 27 per cent of West Ham last November and it was predicted his arrival would allow the Hammers to go bigger and better than before in the transfer market.
A barren January saw doubts raised over his ambition and intentions.
But an unprecedented £170m splurge on eight quality signings in the summer has extinguished any flames of discontent.
West Ham’s billionaire co-owner, who has big stakes in the likes of Royal Mail and Sainsbury’s, has made a fortune snapping up unloved assets.
As reported by Hammers News earlier this month, Kretinsky recently launched a series of big money French media moves after buying a £37m castle near Paris.
Profits soar for billionaire West Ham co-owner Daniel Kretinsky after financial update from Northern Ireland
As the majority of us start to the feel the pinch of rising living costs and particularly energy prices, West Ham’s quiet but shrewd money man is watching his wealth increase.
Profits soar for billionaire West Ham co-owner Kretinsky after a financial update from Northern Ireland.
High energy prices have helped Ballylumford power plant, controlled by West Ham’s co-owner, record after-tax profits of around €7.2 million (£6.3m), The Irish Times reports.
The plant has gone from making a £1m loss to turning the £6.3m profit in just two years.
“EP Ballylumford Ltd owns a gas-fired electricity plant at Larne, Co Antrim, that generates 708 mega watts (MW) of power, some of which is sold in the Republic,” The Irish Times reports.
“The company is part of Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holdings (EPH), a €25 billion (£21.75bn) European business 94 per cent owned by Mr Kretinsky.
“Figures that EP Ballylumford recently filed show that it earned £6.3 million (€7.2 million) after-tax profit last year, turning around a £1 million loss in 2020.”
Sales multiplied about 3.5 times to £258.75 million in 2021 from £72.8 million the previous year, the accounts show.
Increased gas prices boosted electricity revenues, according to a company report filed with the accounts.
However, West Ham’s owner Kretinsky will not benefit directly at the moment.
According to the report, the company did not pay its owner, Czech group EPH’s British subsidiary, EP UK Investments, a dividend.
“EPH owns energy businesses in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Britain, Switzerland, Slovakia and Hungary,” The Irish Times reports.
“The group has assets of more than €25 billion (£21.75bn) and sales of €19 billion (£16.5bn) a year.
“Mr Kretínsky has a stake in English premiership football club West Ham United and co-owns Czech club AC Sparta Prague, one of the country’s most successful sides.”
Let’s hope Kretinsky’s business success is mirrored at West Ham, who are slowly starting to see the fruits of their summer spend following a dismal start to the season.
