London Assembly demands to see accounts of London Stadium company

London Assembly members have demanded to see the financial accounts of the company that owns West Ham's London Stadium home amid concerns it is heading towards insolvency.

London Assembly demands to see accounts of London Stadium company

London Assembly members have demanded to see the financial accounts of the company that owns West Ham's London Stadium home amid concerns it is heading towards insolvency.

The centrepiece of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is owned by E20 Stadium LLP, a joint venture between the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and Newham Council.

Despite having West Ham as an anchor tenant, the £752m stadium has been dogged by financial concerns as the price tag for converting it from an athletics venue to a football ground, and vice-versa, has repeatedly surpassed estimates.

This has led the assembly's budget and performance committee to take the rare step of issuing a summons notice for E20's 2016/17 accounts.

In a statement, the committee's chairman Gareth Bacon said: "This company spends vast amounts of public money and we know it is in financial difficulty.

"But we have been prevented from seeing the accounts of E20 Stadium LLP. Why?

"The assembly needs this information immediately so we can assess whether (London Mayor Sadiq Khan) is making the right decisions when it comes to the London Stadium and Olympic legacy.

"The assembly needs to do its job of scrutinising the issues that matter to London, unhindered."

E20 was unavailable for comment when contacted this afternoon.

Khan announced a review into the Stratford venue last November and is scheduled to receive a much-delayed report on the matter from accountancy firm Moore Stephens by the end of this month. It is hoped that this report will be published before the end of the year.

However, assembly members, whose job it is to hold the mayor to account, are clearly losing patience and E20 now has two weeks to hand over its most recent set of annual accounts.

Earlier this month during a two-hour session at the assembly, the outgoing chief executive and new chairman of LLDC were asked to explain how the stadium's conversion bill rose by £51m in 2016 alone and what they planned to do about it.

Answers were thin on the ground, though, beyond confirming what is now widely known about the real cost of moving the stadium's temporary seating into and out of position so it can be used for athletics, concerts, football and other events.

It is understood, for example, that it cost £8m to transform West Ham's new home into the venue for this summer's World Athletics Championships and back again, instead of the original estimate of £300,000.

These revelations have led some to ask if West Ham's tenancy agreement, which at just £2.5m a year has been described as the "deal of the century", should be revisited.

And there have also been reports that E20 could be placed in administration to allow the whole operation to be restructured.

more courts articles

Woman who stalked Harry Styles jailed and banned from his performances Woman who stalked Harry Styles jailed and banned from his performances
Prince Harry may be forced to settle claim against Sun publisher due to legal costs Prince Harry may be forced to settle claim against Sun publisher due to legal costs
Football fan given banning order after mocking Munich air disaster Football fan given banning order after mocking Munich air disaster

More in this section

Shelbourne issue lifetime ban to fan for throwing object at offical Shelbourne issue lifetime ban to fan for throwing object at offical
Aston Villa v Lille - UEFA Conference League - Quarter-Final - First Leg - Villa Park Emiliano Martinez stars as Aston Villa beat Lille on penalties
Bayern Munich v Arsenal - UEFA Champions League - Quarter-Final - Second Leg - Allianz Arena Arsenal eye Isak and Olise as Arteta aims to take next step
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited