Terry Brown (football chairman)

Terence Brown is the former chairman and Honorary Life President of English Premier League football club West Ham United.

Terence Brown
Brown arriving at Upton Park August 2010
OccupationHonorary Life President, West Ham United

During his time as chairman of West Ham he was often portrayed as someone unpopular with West Ham fans.[1] There were campaigns to remove him from his chairmanship[1][2] and allegations of financial incompetence, during his chairmanship.[3]

A group calling itself "Whistle" was created by fans of West Ham United that were critical of Brown, following the club's relegation in 2003 and the subsequent sale of many of their top players. In April 2004, the group published a dossier accusing the board of financial incompetence, and asking questions regarding the club's finances. Brown and West Ham threatened to initiate legal action towards its members. Brown denied there was a financial crisis at West Ham and urged "to ignore this nonsense and back our boys."[4]

The group's aim was to seize control of the club and appoint a new management structure. But their attempts floundered as the existing directors retained the support of the club's major shareholders, the Warner and Cearns families.[3] Legal proceedings were commenced against three members of Whistle.[5] During 2004, two of the members submitted public apologies.

Brown's tenure as chairman ended in November 2006 with the sale of the club to an Icelandic consortium with businessman Eggert Magnússon as its chairman.[6] Brown made £33.4m from the sale of his 7,392,000 shares in West Ham as part of this deal.[7]

In his final full season as chairman he received £1,016,847 comprising salary of £490,800, bonus of £310,000, benefits in kind £13,807, and pension payments of £202,240.[8]

On 13 August 2010, it was announced that Brown had acquired a small amount of shares from West Ham United's holding company WH Holding in conjunction with John Harris CBE and his son Daniel, known for building up the publicly listed Alba Group. Combined, their initial investment was £4,000,000. Brown is not on the West Ham board but is honorary life president.[9][10]

References
  1. "Israeli to back West Ham bid". www.telegraph.co.uk. 9 September 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  2. "Who IS Terence Brown?". BBCsport. 3 December 2002. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  3. "Brown seeks to gag fans' group". www.thisislondon.co.uk. 6 May 2004. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  4. Simons, Raoul (29 April 2004). "Battle stations at West Ham". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 1 May 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2009. (Sourced from the Wayback Machine.)
  5. "No hammer blow for Whistle". breakingnews.ie. Thomas Crosbie Media. 9 July 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  6. "West Ham accept £85m takeover bid". BBC News. 21 November 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  7. Conn, David (22 November 2006). "Brown cashes in on overseas gold rush". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  8. West Ham accounts 2006 p27
  9. "Further funds raised | News | Latest News | News | West Ham United". Whufc.com. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  10. "Who's who | Staff | The Club | West Ham United". Whufc.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2010.

Further reading
  • Belton, Brian (2007). BROWN OUT: The Biography of West Ham Chairman, Terence Brown. London: Pennant Publishing. ISBN 978-1-906015-11-4.


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