West Ham owners David Sullivan and David Gold sold a 27pc stake in the club to “Czech sphinx” investor Daniel Kretinsky in November.
The billionaire – the biggest investor in Royal Mail and one of Sainsbury’s largest shareholders – could soon benefit even further from the stadium deal, as he has an option to take control of the club by buying out Mr Sullivan at a later date.
Stadium bosses want to increase the ground’s capacity from 60,000 to 62,500. If approved this would increase West Ham’s rent by £83,000 – equivalent to just £33-per-seat-per-year.
The stadium is owned by E20, a group which is controlled by LLDC.
A spokesman said: “E20 has been working hard to agree a naming rights deal for London Stadium as part of our commercial strategy to increase commercial revenue for the venue and reduce costs. This market is very competitive and the pandemic has made matters more difficult but we have a compelling offer and we are confident that we will be able to find the right partner.
“We are bound by the concession agreement signed in 2013 and continue to honour that but London Stadium is one of the world’s best multi-use venues staging world-class events throughout the year like Premier League football, international athletics, Major League Baseball and concerts which generate hundreds of millions of pounds for London’s economy.”
A spokesman for LLDC said: “The impact of the onerous historic agreements on the Stadium’s finances are well documented and we are working hard to reduce losses. The stadium sits at the heart of a much wider regeneration scheme that delivers hundreds of millions of pounds from business rates, council tax and world-class events like Major League Baseball and concerts for the local and London economy.”