DAVID SULLIVAN and David Gold have been announced as the new owners of West Ham.

The former Birmingham City owners have acquired 50 per cent of the club, with the deal valuing West Ham at £105million.

Sullivan also pledged to make funds available for manager Gianfranco Zola in the transfer market, as the club desperately try to escape the relegation dogfight.

“I enjoyed running Birmingham City for 16-and-a-half years, but everyone there knew my true love was always West Ham United,” Sullivan said in an official statement on the West Ham website.

“It will be an immense privilege to lead this great football club and more importantly its supporters.

“Our first priority has to be securing the Premier League status of West Ham. I believe the players at this club have shown great commitment in trying circumstances and the new board and I will get behind them in every way we can.

“We will also look to bring in new players to supplement the squad where needed once we have met with the manager.”

The news will be music to the ears of Zola, who is understood to have been concerned that his position may be less secure with the introduction of Gold and Sullivan, as the pair were reported to be targeting an approach for former Manchester City boss Mark Hughes.

The duo will assume the position of joint chairmen, while Karren Brady will be appointed vice chairman.

Sullivan and Gold beat off competition from Air Asia founder Tony Fernandes, London-based financial company Intermarket and Italian Massimo Cellino.

Sullivan admitted he has big plans for the Upton Park club to BBC Radio 5 Live. “We're taking on a huge task at a club with enormous problems and it will take time for us to turn it around," he said.

"We have short-term goals and long-term goals. In the short term, we want to stay in the Premier League and in the long term we would like to be challenging for the top four and Champions League football.

"There will be some transfer funds available to the manager this month. January is not the best time to buy players - you don't get many bargains in January - but the club has such an unbalanced squad, players will have to be bought, loaned or acquired.

"Myself and my partner David Gold will be honest with the fans about the books, the imbalance of the squad and the crazy wages the Icelandic owners paid out that has brought the club to its knees.

"But this is an important day for us. For 20 years, this is the club we wanted."