The billionaire businessman David Sullivan announced yesterday that he is standing down as joint chair of West Ham United over what he described as “entirely false” claims against him.
The Welsh tycoon, who made his money in the pornography industry, said he categorically denied the “decades-old allegations”. BBC’s Panorama is understood to be investigating, with a programme due to be broadcast on Monday. In a statement, Sullivan, 77, said: “The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media. After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry, in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me. I categorically deny these claims.
“I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as. I have not been provided with any proper explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility prior to publication.
“I believe that the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality. I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libellous allegations.”
Sullivan said none of the allegations against him involved his interests in football. He said he had decided to step down to avoid personal matters becoming “an unnecessary distraction” as the club regroups following relegation from the Premier League.
Sullivan has stood down as both joint chair and director of West Ham United. No announcement was made concerning his 38.8% shareholding in the club, the largest single stake.
In 2010, Sullivan and his business partner David Gold bought a 50% stake in West Ham. The two men were previously majority shareholders of Birmingham City football club.
Gold died after a short illness in 2023, with his daughter Vanessa Gold now a joint chair of West Ham United, along with the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
West Ham was relegated from the Premier League in May after 14 years of top-flight football. The club is based at the London Stadium in Stratford, east London, which was constructed for the London 2012 Olympics and is still subsidised with public funds.
Sullivan embarked on his career in pornography while working a day job in a petrol station, selling explicit pictures by mail order. He went on to own Britain’s biggest sex shop group, Private Shops, and produced a series of low-budget softcore pornographic films.
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He was a dominant player in the adult magazine market by the 1970s and launched the newspaper the Sunday Sport in 1986. It was followed by Daily Sport five years later.
In 2008, when Sullivan owned a stake in Birmingham City, the club issued a statement denying allegations made against him, which it said were around “consensual sexual touching”. Essex Police investigated a claim of sexual assault involving a 25-year-old woman and later issued a statement saying there would be no further action.
West Ham United said in a statement yesterday on Saturday: “Through his own legal representatives, Mr Sullivan denies any illegal conduct and has taken the decision to step down in order to avoid disruption to the club while he addresses the matter privately.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “BBC Panorama and the Times newspaper have been working together on a joint investigation into the behaviour of David Sullivan. The investigation is due to be broadcast and published on Monday.”
Photograph by Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images