David Goldstone, chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, has defended West Ham’s £15m move to the £700m Olympic stadium as a “good deal”.
Goldstone was being grilled at a GLA committee hearing about the deal, which is reported to see West Ham paying £15m to move in and £2.5m in annual rent on a 99-year lease for the £700m stadium.
The chief executive could not confirm the figures, citing commercially sensitive information. However he said: “I think it is a good deal for the public purse.”
Further information relating to the structure of the deal and whether rents were linked to West Ham’s performance were also confidential.
Goldstone said: “As a public body responsible for protecting the public purse we need to keep our negotiating hand as strong as possible and so can’t reveal the terms of the deal.”
Committee members appeared frustrated by the explanation. The hearing finished with members requesting written clarification over whether the confidentiality clause was written into the agreement with West Ham.
