A consortium led by former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley has held talks about purchasing a 25% stake in Championship club West Ham.

The group, which also includes Staveley’s husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, have expressed a firm interest in purchasing Vanessa Gold’s stake in the club and discussions have developed in recent weeks.

Staveley is understood to have secured global investment in an effort to secure a deal.

According to sources, the consortium made initial enquiries into the prospect of investing in West Ham towards the end of last season, which ended in the Hammers being relegated from the top flight.

It is understood the group are open to buying further shares that could make them majority shareholders.

David Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky are currently the club’s major shareholders.

Staveley was also involved in a consortium that had designs on purchasing Tottenham Hotspur last season.

She and Ghodoussi sold their shares and left Newcastle in July 2024.

Sullivan stepped down from his position as joint chairman of the club in June following a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the Times newspaper into his behaviour.

Multiple women have accused billionaire businessman Sullivan of abusing his power and preying on them for sex, in some cases when they were teenagers.

The allegations from seven women were uncovered in the joint investigation and span decades, starting in the 1980s. All come from women who were in their late teens or early twenties and were young models seeking work at Sullivan’s Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers.

They accuse Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, including pressuring them for sex during business meetings, where he offered to boost their careers if they slept with him or gave him oral sex.

Sullivan, 77, said he “categorically” denies the claims, which span the period when he made a fortune from pornography, newspapers and football.

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) contacted West Ham over the “extremely serious allegations” and said it is seeking “urgent information” from him about his suitability for the role.