David Sullivan resigns as West Ham director amid BBC and Times investigation into personal life

David Sullivan has resigned as West Ham United director, citing “false allegations” about his private life, as a joint BBC and Times investigation into his personal conduct prepares to air on Panorama.

Sullivan, who co-owned the east London club for 16 years, is one of the most prominent figures in English football ownership. His departure marks the end of a long and controversial tenure at the Irons.

From adult entertainment to football boardrooms

Sullivan made the bulk of his fortune in adult entertainment during the 1970s, producing magazines and films that made him a millionaire by the age of 25. In the 1980s, he launched the Sunday Sport and Daily Sport — tabloids that gained wide notoriety for featuring semi-nude models — before expanding into mail-order softcore photography, sex shops and low-budget pornographic films, the latter ventures undertaken alongside the late David Gold, his long-time business partner and fellow West Ham co-owner.

Sullivan was unapologetic about that chapter of his career. “I am not ashamed of it — I only sold to adults and all my material was with adults,” he said in 2016, adding that the sex shop business had since become unviable. He once described himself as a “freedom fighter” in relation to his work in the industry.

He later sold the Sunday Sport and Daily Sport for a combined £45 million, a transaction that significantly boosted his already considerable wealth.

A £75m Marylebone mansion and an Essex estate

Sullivan’s property portfolio reflects the scale of his fortune. He told Bloomberg that he spent approximately £75 million acquiring his primary residence in Marylebone, central London, and a further £50 million renovating it. Built in 1775, the house features 10 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a swimming pool, a wine cellar, a cinema room and a sauna. The property has hosted notable cultural moments over the years — supermodel Kate Moss shot a campaign there, and the late Amy Winehouse used it as the backdrop for her “Rehab” music video.

He also owns a sprawling estate in Essex valued at around £7.5 million, spanning more than 25,000 square feet across acres of land. The property includes 14 bedrooms, multiple bathrooms and a dining room capable of seating 24 guests.

Net worth and Welsh roots

Born in Cardiff, Sullivan is listed as the fifth-richest person from Wales, with the Sunday Times Rich List placing his net worth at approximately £1.1 billion. The combination of his adult entertainment empire, newspaper sales and football investment has cemented his status as one of British sport’s wealthiest owner figures.

The full nature of the allegations against him has not yet been detailed publicly. Sullivan has denied wrongdoing, characterising the claims as false.