Taxpayer loses out as West Ham spared rates on stadium
WEST HAM United have become embroiled in further controversy after it emerged the club will pay just a fraction of the £2.3m annual business rates bill on its London Stadium home.
The owner, E20 Stadium, a joint venture between publicly funded London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council, has revealed the football club will pay additional rates on just the retail and office space.
In a response to a Freedom of Information request, E20 confirmed it will pick up the bill for the rest of the 66,000-capacity stadium, dealing yet another blow to the taxpayer after West Ham secured the lease last year for just £2.5m a year in rent.
The revelation comes days after mobile phone giant Vodafone pulled out of a £20m deal to sponsor the stadium.
It also follows a raid by HM Revenue and Customs as part of a wider investigation into allegations of tax evasion in football.
E20 declined to reveal how much West Ham would contribute in business rates, saying this was still under discussion after the club’s relocation.
It is likely to be far less than the £1.3m in annual rates for its former home at The Boleyn Ground, according to business rent and rates specialist CVS.
West Ham’s lease agreement has come under heavy fire while it has also been revealed the taxpayer will foot the bill for the costs of policing, stewarding, heating, maintenance of the pitch and even corner flags and nets.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance said the “deal of the century now looks even worse for taxpayers”.
The annual rates bill for the London Stadium was £2.1m in 2016/17 and surged to £2.3m after the tax shake-up on April 1, according to CVS.
A spokesman for E20 said: “West Ham United does not own the stadium and only has full use of it on a certain number of days each year, for which they pay £2.5m annually.
“In addition, they pay the business rates for the office space and other areas they occupy exclusively. They do so via a contribution to the overall rates bill.”
A spokesman for West Ham United said the club only uses the stadium facilities on matchday so, as tenants, pay for the share of rates on those matchdays.
He added: “We also, as tenants with our own specific areas, are liable for rates on the club offices, shop and warehouse.
“We will be separately assessed on this by the Valuation Office and this will be backdated to when we first moved in.”