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£82m Tottenham development speaks volumes about Daniel Levy’s transfer plan
The latest insights from behind the scenes at Tottenham perfectly illustrate Daniel Levy’s approach to transfers.
Levy is a respected operator in the football business world but his sustainability-first approach has often frustrated supporters, who are keen for him to take the handbrake off in the transfer market.
Spurs have one of the best wages-to-turnover ratios in the Premier League and surpassed £500m in revenue for the first time in the last financial year.
But those achievements will not placate a fanbase who are far more concerned with the traditional metric of gauging success – winning trophies.
Levy and ENIC would argue that, in an era when Profit and Sustainability Rules anchor spending to revenue, they are performing well relative to their budget.
But with the owners of the likes of Man City, Newcastle and Chelsea willing to bankroll losses to fund success on the pitch, many bedrock fans have taken issue with Spurs’ emphasis on sustainable growth.
Tottenham grow sponsorship income – will more ambitious transfers follow?
Spurs’ commercial income stood at £228m for 2022-23, the last full financial year for which data is available.
That was behind only Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs in terms of cash generated from sponsorship, retail and events.
Now, a new study from industry experts has highlighted just how impressive Spurs’ commercial operation is.
According to SBI’s research, just 36 per cent of Spurs’ commercial income came from the three biggest sponsorship categories – front-of-shirt, kit and shirt sleeve.
That means Spurs deals with AIA, Nike and Kraken make up £82m of their £228m commercial pot.
For context, many other top clubs are far less diversified.
Arsenal, for example, generated 81 per cent of their £173m commercial income from their kit, shirt and sleeve deals.
In the Premier League elite, only Liverpool bested Tottenham’s figure, by one per cent.
This depth of Spurs’ commercial portfolio signals just how much time and resources that Levy has invested in the commercial department.
He would argue that he is playing a waiting game in the transfer market.
With the Premier League and UEFA set to introduce new squad cost control measures, Spurs’ maturing commercial growth may just stand them in good stead to turn on the afterburners in future windows.
- READ MORE SPURS FINANCE NEWS: Door opens for Amanda Staveley to take over Tottenham as paperwork filed
TBR Analysis: Could new owners inject more cash into Spurs?
Levy has publicly revealed that he is courting investment in Spurs, although it is not clear whether this will be in the form of a full or partial takeover.
Both options are believed to be on the table and a number of groups have been linked in recent months.
Former Newcastle director Amanda Staveley, who was the public face of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s deal to buy the club in 2021, is the latest to be said to be exploring a deal.
Through PCP Capital Partners, she is said to have raised £500m for a new football investment.