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Daniel Levy could green-light £3bn Tottenham takeover but stay as CEO
Daniel Levy is seeking fresh investment in Tottenham – but what form might that take and who might be in the running to acquire a stake in the one of the world’s most valuable clubs?
Formerly Joe Lewis’s right-hand man, Levy is the longest serving chairman in the Premier League and, via investment vehicle ENIC, owns a 30 per cent stake in the club of whom he is a lifel💖ong supporter.
Bahamas-based Lewis’s stake in Spurs was passed on to his family tru🃏st following his conviction for insider trading in 2022, leaving Levy as the key architect of the club’s future.
Of course, many would argue that Le๊vy has been the true power behind the throne for far longer.
He has certainly exerted more boots-on-the-ground influence at Spurs than anyone else over 💎th🐽e last two decades, and perhaps more than any other individual in the Premier League over that period.
However, it is telling that Levy announced that he was seeking fresh investment bare♎ly 18 months after Lewis ceased to be a person of significant control at the North London club.
It’s hard to imagine anyone else at the helm.
But Levy’s preamble to Spurs’ for 2022-23, in which he revealed ENIC were “in di﷽scussions with prospective investors”, means that is no longer a remote possibility.
TBR spoke exclusively to the Price of Football author/podcaster and University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire to explore what might be on the horizon🦹 ꧃for Spurs in terms of investment.
Will we see a minority purchase or a full takeover?
Levy did not explicitly say whether Spurs were seeking minority or majority investment, only that the club “requires a significant increase in its🦋 equity base.”
Liverpool and Man United sold minority stakes to Dynasty Equity and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS in recent months, with wildly different results in terms o🗹f the amount of power each yields at the respective clubs.
Before they pivoted to Everton, the US grou🙈p MSP Sports Capital had a concrete interest in a full takeover 🍷of Spurs, going as far as to enlist consultancy firms to conduct due diligence.
Maguire believes th🥀at both a full and partial takeover are on the table.
“I think everything is in play,” he said.
“Spurs are very attractive. I think the big issue is that ENIC have a majority stake Levy would want to continue to be chairman should a new owner come in.
“This is the same issue with Steve Parish at Crystal Palace. They don’t want to give up the power.
“There is certainly interest in Spurs. They are a fantastic proposition. You don’t have to spend anything on infrastructure – the stadium and training faculties are there, both of which are magnificent.
“They’re in London, which makes them attractive to American and Middle East investors.
“If the number is right, then you could see a majority stake being sold. But I think Levy’s ego and the fact he is a genuine Spurs fan might prove to be a stumbಌling block.
“That is unless you have some sort of caveated arrangement like we have at Man United, whereby someone has a minority stake but with a parallel contract that gives them a significant power.
How much are Spurs worth?
Ultimately, footbal🅷l club⛎ value is subjective and determined by how much the market is willing to pay.
However, analysis from industry authorities like Forbes and Football Benchmark have speculatively placed ෴Spurs’ enterprise value at around £2.6bn.
Lo൲oking at the club’s annual revenue, Maguire concurs, c🌳iting Liverpool’s deal with Dynasty Equity for perspective.
“Recently, we’re seeing value determined by multiples of revenue. For the elite clubs, it’s probably in the region of five to seven times revenue.
“Spurs have revenue of £550m, so five times that gives us a figure of £2.75bn.
“A ten per cent stake would be somewhere around £275m, £300m. That’s around what FSG got for Liverpool in their deal with Dynasty Equity.
Who could buy Spurs – private equity?
Whenever a takeover of a Premꩵier League ღclub is on the agenda, the same few names continuously crop up. And with good reason.
The level of wealth and commitment that a multi-billion-pound takeover ꦓrequires isꦛ enormous, with only a handful of investors reaching the threshold.
Spurs is a capital appreciation project, making the club enticing to one group of investors in particular who believe that there is🤡 huge untapped value in Premier League teams: US private equity groups.
As well as MSP Sports Capital, US company Liberty Media, who are the most valuable sports group in the world,꧑ have been linked with a Spurs takeover – albeit loosely.
So, could Spurs strike a deal with a gro💫up from this market? Maguire believes it is a distinct possibility, although it mi𝐆ght not be the most attractive option for Spurs fans.
“In terms of private equity, I can understand the attraction of Spurs. It’s the best run club financially in the Premier League in terms of cost control.
“That comes at a price in terms of achievements on the pitch. Would that bother private equity? No.
“At the same time, Spurs have made fairly significant losses in recent years, and that has to be addressed at some point.
“Although in PSR, they are in the clear because the losses are offset by infrastructure spend.
“My issue with private equity is that I’m not sure how well it would go down with the Spurs fanbase.”
“They’re looking for a fiscal return on investment. And that fiscal return on investment is not necessarily going to involve major success on the pitch.
“Success will be measured by qualifying for the Champions League. It depends whether Spurs are willing to accept that. Based purely on thei꧙r budget, that is them🐻 punching at their weight.
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A Middle East sovereign wealth fund?
In the Premier League and bey🌞ond, the mind-melting wealth of Gulf state sovereign wealth funds has captured the imagination of supporters dreaming of becoming the n꧑ext Man City or Paris Saint-Germain.
The petrodollars often go hand in hand with issues aroun♓d human rig🔴hts and sportswashing.
But that did not stop Newcastle f🐼ans going wild when they were bought by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, or Man United supporters being distraught at the Qatar Investment Authority failed takeover.
Spurs have a🍃lso been linked with a takeover from Qatar Sports Inve𒅌stment (no relation, app💙arently), the state-backed group behind PSG.
Th🐭at would require QSI to divest their stake in PSG, of course.
And, significantly, Levy is a known ally of QSI and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaiffi, one of 🤪the most powerful men in football.
Levy is also understood to have close links to Bahrain, whose sovereign wealth fund commands assets of almost £20bn and who are yet to make♈ a significant investment in club football.
We asked Maguire w൲hไether this could be another potential source of investment for Spurs.
“Sovereign wealth funds are a separate issue. There are a limited number of them, and the Premier League has already become a billionaire’s ego contest.
“The thing is, you can’t just look at the wealth of the owners. You have to look at the objectives.
“Joe Lewis could have spent far more at Tottenham. Jim Ratcliffe could release the shackles at Man United, but he’s choosing not to go down the other route.
“We do have a very significant contrast in the Premier League. You have the profit maximisers, the likes of FSG and, historically, Stan Kroenke, although he has softened that stance a bit, and the Glazers.
“Then, you’ve soft power maximisers, in the shape of Abu Dhabi, PIF and, to a certain extent previously, Roman Abramovich.”