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When the possibility of West Ham United being taken over by the private equity firm PAI Capital faded earlier this year, chairman David Sullivan was quick to point out that in addition to considering their offer to be “derisory” he felt that they were not football people.
With Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire who has purchased a 27% stake in the club alongside his business partner Pavel Horsky, there can be no such concerns.
The 46-year-old’s credentials are there for all to see from his long-term presidency of Sparta Prague, a club that has remained relatively self-sufficient and competed regularly in Europe despite being in one of the continent’s smaller domestic markets. His personal stake in Sparta now rests at 40% with the remaining 60% held by J&T, the investment firm he became a partner of in 2003.
According to UEFA rules Kretinsky would need to step down from his Sparta role should both clubs be drawn together in competition but in terms of understanding how the industry works there are no fears over a seasoned operator.
But football makes up just one corner of the rapidly-expanding empire belonging to a man who Forbes say has a personal worth of $4bn (£2.9bn) with a total empire estimated at £17bn.
Kretinsky’s tentacles stretch far and wide, including across a number of the UK’s biggest companies. Early last year he purchased a 5% stake in Royal Mail that has now grown to 19% with a value of close to £830m. He has amassed a 10% share of Sainsbury’s in the intervening time and, across the channel, holds stakes in print media and television. Other recent additions to his portfolio include Macy’s and Foot Locker, pointing to a willingness to gamble on struggling companies.
Kretinsky’s biggest interest lies in the energy sector through EPH, the company he founded out of J&T in 2009. Having held a 20% stake at the beginning, he now owns 94% of a business that has more than 25,000 employees across Europe. It claims to be a leader in decarbonisation and owns railways, coal mines and gas stations stretching from Ireland to Ukraine.
A lawyer by trade and the son of a judge and university professor, Kretinsky keeps his private life private. His partner Anna Kellnerova is the daughter of Petr Kellner, the Czechs’ richest man before he passed away in a helicopter accident in March, and he was present to see her compete in showjumping at the Tokyo Olympics.
He rarely gives interviews and the quotes accompanying the formal announcement of the West Ham deal were hardly groundbreaking, though many fans will be appreciative of a nod towards his acknowledgement of the club’s tradition and history.
Above all Kretinsky has a reputation for being a ruthless decision-maker, hardly an outlier characteristic among billionaires, and the “Czech Sphinx” nickname comes from his inscrutable demeanour.
There was, however, a big smile on his face as he clapped along to Twist and Shout at full-time of Sunday’s Premier League win against Liverpool. The deal had been agreed by then but was reportedly being held up by red tape. Negotiations began several months ago, when PAI remained interested in a deal that was never that close to formulating.
So what happens now? The suggestion that his interest in West Ham came from the club signing Czech internationals Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal is overly simplistic; more likely is the fact he has seen a club with potential to grow that was open to investment.
His 27% purchase will have cost between £180m and £190m, indicating that the total valuation of West Ham at present is close to £700m. That would place them among the top 15 biggest in the world going off the most recent figures available from Deloitte.
Talk of Kretinsky eventually taking full control in East London has been played down by numerous sources but with Sullivan 72 years old and Gold in his mid-80s major change is on the horizon.
Kretinsky does have the financial muscle to become the club’s outright owner should he wish but neither Sullivan nor Gold are ready to relinquish their full hold on a club that, regardless of many supporters’ frustrations, has finally reached the position they outlined when taking over more than a decade ago.
Following the completion of this deal Sullivan remains the biggest shareholder with 38.8% (down from 51.5%) with Gold’s slice at 25.1% (reduced by 10%). The American businessman Tripp Smith owns 8% (down 2%) with other minority investors holding a 1% stake.
In the short-term Kretinsky’s investment will be viewed as an opportunity for the club to consolidate its place high up the table with potential investment in the squad but his injection of money will, according to the club, “initially enable the reduction of its long-term debt”.
Their most recent published accounts said a long-term £120m loan facility had been agreed, replacing a previous agreement with another lender, while the club’s revenue fell 27% in the 2019/20 campaign due to coronavirus. It is unclear if that facility was picked up but regardless West Ham are in a better financial state now than before Kretinsky’s arrival.
