Sunday 28 December 2014 13:24, UK
West Ham's owners have put a 20 per cent stake in the club up for sale in a bid to reduce debts of £110m.
Hammers co-owner David Sullivan told the Sunday Telegraph that he and fellow owner David Gold are seeking to raise £80m to help reduce debts which currently stand at £110m, of which £55m is owed to Gold and Sullivan.
Sullivan claims that West Ham's upcoming move to the Olympic Stadium at the end of next season means the club is worth £400m - almost four times its value when he and Gold bought the Hammers in January 2010.
"We've no desire to give up the whole club," Sullivan said. "But we're still £110m in debt - albeit now £55m of that is to ourselves. So the third-party debt has been halved, but only because we've put the money in.
"We lost £30m when we went down (to the Championship in 2011) and we made £10m on paper last year. What's on paper is not cash-flow and we have to pay down the debt all the time and we have to be clear of bank debt when we move to the Olympic Stadium.
"I'd love someone to come in and buy 20 per cent and the money would not go to us, it would go to the club. But we won't be giving it away and we'd want market value for it.
"Going to the Olympic Stadium we are a £400m club and that would pay down most of the debt. But if it doesn't happen we'll dig deep in our pockets and keep the club afloat."
Sullivan also revealed that he does know if manager Sam Allardyce, who has led West Ham to fifth place in the Premier League, will sign a new contract with the club.
"I must say if come April we are where we are now, which is extremely unlikely but is possible, we'd probably sit down a month early and say, 'Look Sam, do you want to stay or do you want to go?' Sam may decide he wants to go out a winner," Sullivan said.
