West Ham’s billionaire majority owner David Sullivan has been hit by a new blow as a reward is offered to aid a police investigation.
West Ham are not the only thing giving David Sullivan sleepless nights at the moment.
Sullivan and the Hammers board are counting the cost of a failed £155m summer rebuild.
The Irons are on their third manager in nine months with the team languishing in 16th place in the Premier League table after the club’s latest defeat, at home to Brentford.
After parting company with David Moyes, Julen Lopetegui and Tim Steidten have both been sacked by Sullivan for their part in West Ham’s failings.
Graham Potter has come in. But after initial enthusiasm he has endured an inauspicious start with just one win in six games so far.
Off the pitch, sources close to Sullivan are claiming West Ham are facing financial difficulties ahead of the summer.
Anger has started to rise towards the owners from some Hammers fans.
Especially after the club elected not to spend money in the winter window, bringing in Evan Ferguson on a dry loan and recalling James Ward-Prowse from a disastrous loan instead.
As majority owner, Sullivan is taking most of the flak from fans.
Now things have gone from bad to worse for West Ham chief Sullivan as police are called to his mansion.
Bad to worse for West Ham chief Sullivan as police called
Sullivan lives in Birch Hall, near Theydon Bois, Essex in a mansion built by Ashby and Horner to Sullivan’s design in 1992.
It is set in around 12 acres (49,000 m2) of land and cost of £7.5 million for the land and building.
With a net worth over £1bn, money is not an issue for Sullivan.
Although being able to pump money into West Ham is given the restrictions that come with PSR.
Having that kind of wealth can sometimes attract the wrong attention, though.
And that was the case at the weekend when police were at Sullivan’s mansion.
Sullivan’s pad was the target of an attempted break-in by would-be burglars.
The Hammers chief has offered a £10,000 reward and Essex Police have reportedly made three arrests so far.
Sullivan’s fiancee, reality TV star Ampika Pickston, took to social media to reveal what happened in the latest break-in attempt after a similar incident back in 2017.
Sullivan offers £10k reward after attempted break-in at mansion
“I wouldn’t normally post this… but I feel like I do need to share this because I do need to be vigilant and make sure everyone else is aware,” Pickston said on her Instagram Stories.
“We know the world is not a safe place but on Valentine’s night… we’ve had an attempted break-in. Our laser beams have gone off around the property. We’re based in Theydon Bois in Essex.
“So I’ve contacted the police and I will say that Essex Police have been fantastic. We’ve had two officers at our front door within five minutes, we’ve had a helicopter around the grounds doing thermal body scans and searches for anyone hanging around in the bushes.
“We’ve picked up on camera, a chap who has been walking around our grounds who has broken the laser beams with a little head-torch on…
“David and I would like to give a £10,000 reward for (information) on who that person is because they have tried to break in to our home and that type of behaviour is not acceptable.
“It’s illegal to trespass, it’s an absolutely heinous crime to try and break into peoples’ homes. Morally you are the lowest of the low. But I can’t thank Essex Police enough.
“I just wanted to share that to make sure you’re all vigilant. Lock your doors, make sure your alarm is on, keep your windows closed.
Back in 2017, there was another attempted break-in at Sullivan’s house which was unsuccessful.
Sullivan offered a £25,000 reward on that occasion, issuing a statement which he would likely echo today.
“To have someone attempt break into your home is an awful experience, and I hope this reward will help bring the individual responsible to justice and prevent others going through the same ordeal,” Sullivan said at the time.
