Tottenham Hotspur is in the market for minority investment after announcing in the club’s latest accounts that the board is in discussions with prospective investors.
Links with former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley and her husband and business partner Mehrdad Ghodoussi continue. Over recent months, they have attended Spurs matches and the NFL London Games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
At one point, rumours claimed that the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was jetting into the capital to make a deal, while a theory has emerged that Crystal Palace co-owner David Blitzer could be ready to jump ship. football.london has the latest on a potential takeover at Tottenham or the sale of a minority stake in the club to investors.
Staveley speaks
Amanda Staveley acknowledged at Bloomberg’s ‘Women, Money & Power’ event in central London earlier this month that she is hopeful about being involved in a Premier League club again five months after leaving Newcastle. “It’s so hard to move on from a club that’s amazing,” she said. “We could never move on from Newcastle, and we never will. But yes, we’re looking at a number of investment operations.
“We can’t say too much at the moment because of rules around it. But we will be able to talk about it, hopefully in the not too distant future.”
Palace co-owner’s plan
Crystal Palace co-owner David Blitzer reportedly wants to take sole control of another Premier League club, as Spurs may be available. Blitzer and fellow American investor Josh Harris own an estimated 18 percent each of the Eagles.
The Sun journalist Alan Nixon cites sources in the United States when claiming Blitzer wants to lead a bid to buy another team, approaching a decade after buying into Palace, reporting that Spurs may be available ‘if the deal is right’.
Alongside business partner Harris, their management company Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment were financing the Sir Martin Broughton-led offer to takeover Chelsea from Roman Abramovich but lost out to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
NFL interest
football.london quashed speculation in early December that US billionaire Jerry Jones was planning to buy Spurs. Reports had suggested that the Cowboys owner was considering a deal to buy the club, which has a well-established relationship with the NFL and hosts games annually at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Jones, one of America’s wealthiest individuals with an estimated net worth of £12.84billion, has previously been linked with Spurs. And rumours claimed that Jones was jetting into London to negotiate a deal. However, football.london understands those reports were wide of the mark and that Jones will not be purchasing or investing in the club.
Staveley ‘re-positioning’
The company through which Amanda Staveley invested in Newcastle United has gone into voluntary liquidation. On Monday, 14 October, a filing with Companies House revealed that Redstart Leisure Limited had filed a special resolution to wind up the company, with a voluntary liquidator to be appointed.
The move came just two weeks after the company changed its name from Cantervale Limited to Redstart and three weeks after another one of Staveley’s companies, Apollo Belvedere Services LLP, formerly known as PCP Capital Partners, having also been wound up. That move came after a legal battle with Greek shipping magnate Victor Restis, who won a court case over a £3.4m sum he was due from investing in her business ventures.
The liquidation of Redstart Leisure Limited, formerly Cantervale, could hint at Staveley re-positioning her and her husband, Merhdad Ghoudoussi’s business interests as they eye a move to get involved in another football club.
‘Advanced talks’
In late August, our colleagues at the Mirror reported via The Sun that Staveley and her husband and business partner Mehrdad Ghodoussi were in advanced talks over acquiring a sizeable stake in Spurs. They quote a source close to the deal who claims they are serious about getting involved with the club, which they hoped would be finalised within weeks with an initial investment and at least before the end of this year.
Both are said to have attended the match against Brentford as club guests, with Ghodoussi also reputedly attending the North London Derby. The couple is apparently expected to purchase shares owned by Joe Lewis’ family trust.
The Sun then reported in mid-October that Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, a close ally of Staveley during their time at St James’ Park, will likely be top of a managerial wishlist if any deal materialises. Ange Postecoglou has come under increasing pressure since then but retained Levy’s backing as of early December.
Bloomberg reported in mid-July that Spurs are one of multiple clubs, including Monaco, that Staveley is possibly looking at as she searches for another football investment after selling her stake in Newcastle that same month, with talks already said to have taken place with the club’s advisors Rothschild and Co. Later in July, The Sunday Times claimed that Staveley had expressed an interest in a stake in Tottenham after reputedly raising £500million through her firm PCP Capital Partners.
Levy latest
In the club’s latest set of financial results, which came out in April, Levy acknowledged: “the board and its advisors, Rothschild & Co, are in discussions with prospective investors” as they need to “continue to invest in the teams and undertake future capital projects, the club requires a significant increase in its equity base”.
In late July, the Sunday Times reported that Rothschild bankers were advising on selling a minority stake. They also claimed that raising fresh capital would fund signings, develop an academy for the women’s team, and build a 30-storey hotel next to their stadium.
Levy reiterated the club’s stance at a fan forum in late September. “We announced with our last results that we believe this club needs a bigger capital base because we’ve got a lot of exciting projects on the horizon, and we want to make further investment in the teams,” the chairman said.
“Some form of minority investment is what we’re looking for. We’ve got nothing to announce at the moment, but we are in the market.”
Staveley’s stance
Asked by The Athletic what she could say about the potential investment in Tottenham, Stavely said: “Not much, I’m afraid. My preference would have been to stay with Newcastle, but life doesn’t always work out exactly how you want it to.
