West Ham’s £2.5m rent ‘not enough’

WEST Ham’s feud with their landlords has been reignited after they said the rent they receive from the club is not enough to cover the cost of staging games.

West Ham secured the stadium for a rental fee of £2.5m a year in 2013 and moved in at the start of the 2016-17 season. E20 Stadium LLP, the company that manages the London Stadium, had operating losses of about £22m for the last financial year and could be dissolved.

Lyn Garner, right, chief executive of E20’s parent company, London Legacy Development Corporation, said: “What is really driving the problems here are the low rents paid by the concessionaires, particularly West Ham. I’ve got to say the elephant in the room is the fee that they pay us in the usage cost does not cover the event-day costs and that’s before we go anywhere near a commercial advantage.”

The Hammers are threatening more legal action should accusations persist that they still owe money for unpaid bills. West Ham are unhappy about an honours board which has been taken down and there is also a dispute over the design of a new pitch-surround to cover the running track.

E20 say there are unpaid bills. But the club said: “West Ham are disappointed that a public body should try to mislead taxpayers. There are no unpaid bills. We have taken successful legal action against E20 and will do so again if necessary.”