by Talk of a Tottenham Hotspur takeover has continued to grow after the club released their 2022/23 financial accounts and made a stunning new claim.
The club made £549.6 million in revenue in the latest financial accounts, a record, but lost £86.8 million overall. Following the release of the accounts, chairman Daniel Levy admitted that the club is in talks with potential investors.
“Our turnover is over half a billion pounds for the first time,” said Levy. “While UEFA money was added, this was also driven by increased stadium income from football and non-football events and additional revenue streams.
“This is the impact of our multi-use stadium and what our board has set out to deliver to invest in our football in a way that is financially sustainable. The overall priority for our club is to achieve success in the park.”
In recent years, Spurs have continued to be mentioned as an option for billionaires looking to invest in a Premier League club amid Todd Boehly’s takeover of Chelsea and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s recent purchase of 27.7 percent in Manchester United.
a Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim was touted as a man of interest after failing to land Man United. Elsewhere, American Rapper Jay-Z and Formula One owners Liberty Media have also been linked with buying a stake in Spurs with some new speculation suggesting a major deal could be reached this summer.
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With that said, here’s the latest on the club’s potential investment or sale following the release of the 2022/23 season accounts.
Summer investment claim made
Former Aston Villa and Everton CEO Keith Wyness made a major Tottenham takeover claim including a clear investment timeline.
“I’ve been involved in discussions with a number of groups who have a real interest in trying to get minority ownership of Spurs,” he told the Football Insider podcast. “But most groups want to hope to buy a majority stake in the club.
“Some of the biggest names in the world of finance were involved in the talks. Rothschilds are Spurs’ advisers, and have had a stake in the deal for years – but no-one has been able to come to an agreement yet.”
He said: “I have a feeling something big is coming up in the summer – when this minority market could come a lot closer.”
Investment talks
In Spurs’ financial accounts, Levy confirmed: “the board and its advisers, Rothschild & Co, are in discussions with potential investors” because the north London outfit “must continue to invest in the teams and undertake future capital projects , the club claims a significant increase in its equity base”.
Purchase of Liberty Media
Formula One owners Liberty Media were touted as a potential investor for Tottenham last summer. Those reports went quiet and now they have made the next move.
Earlier this week, the US media conglomerate bought MotoGP in a deal worth £3.6bn. The deal is expected to be officially completed by the end of the year.
Liverpool plan
Rivals Liverpool have already secured investment in the club after announcing they would also be seeking additional funds. In September it was confirmed that New York firm Dynasty Equity had injected between $100million (£80m) and $200million (£163m) to improve the club’s cash flow.
This put an end to rumors of a full sale of the club and Fenway Sports Group (FSG) was turning its focus to other investments elsewhere. The Liverpool Echo now suggest they are keen to land an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, although that is a longer-term ambition.
FSG is also said to be keen to pursue the golf market, investing in the PGA Tour in a bid that could rival Newcastle’s Private Investment Fund (PIF). After months of disagreement following the creation of LIV Golf, a proper agreement has yet to be finalized between PIF, PGA Tour and DP World Tour and this could open the door for businesses interested in investing.
Although it does not have a direct impact on Tottenham, as one of its rivals in the Premier League it is interesting that FSG is willing to compete with the owners of WWE and UFC Try this way with PGA Tour.
Decision of Sheikh Jassim
Sheikh Jassim will not want to buy another football club amid links to take over Tottenham, says reporter Ben Jacobs. The Qatari-based Nine Two Foundation has been rumored to make a bid for Spurs following their failed move to Manchester United, but that now seems unlikely.
Confirmed offer
Tottenham have rejected offers for the club in the past, Levy confirmed. “Over the years a lot of people have made offers but there’s never been an offer…” he began when asked by Bloomberg before being cut off. It was a question of where the offers came from.
“All over the world, the far east, the Middle East, America. Nothing was put on our table that we felt was of interest to the shareholders.”
As for why nothing has come of it, the English businessman said: “Many reasons. For us as a board it’s just the guardians of this club. We want to take it to another level. There’s progress we have performed for the last 20 years, we have invested heavily in our capital projects, in our staff and if someone came along and we felt they could take us to another level we would look at it.”
“If we get the right named rights partner – and when I say that, I mean someone who pays the right money in the right sector – then we’re willing to consider doing it,” Levy said. “But we’re not as committed to doing it now as we might have been when we first looked at building the stadium.”
Admission levies
Levy admitted that he would consider selling the club if the right offer came along. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg he said: “I have no interest in leaving Tottenham, but I have to consider anything that anyone might want to suggest. It’s not about me, it’s about him what is right for the club.
“We have 30,000 shareholders who own approximately 13.5 percent. We run this club as if it were a public company. If anyone wants to make a serious offer to the Tottenham board we would consider it, along with our advisers, and if so. he felt it was in the best interests of the club that we would be open to anything.”
Interest of Sheikh Jassim
Spurs may be an option for Sheikh Jassim, who is said to have had five offers for Manchester United to this point, now that he has failed in his bid to take control of Old Trafford.
According to ESPN journalist Mark Ogden, Sheikh Jassim and his entourage have earmarked Spurs as a possible option.
“They are trying to find the Premier League,” Ogden told The United States. “Someone said to me recently, they said if the Qataris don’t buy Man United, they will come back and they might end up buying Tottenham.
“He said, look, if you have Manchester City owned by Abu Dhabi, you have Newcastle with Saudi Arabia, if the Qataris buy Tottenham maybe, you have three clubs that can pull it off.”
Jay-Z ‘prepare offer’ for Spurs
Shock claims have emerged over a potential offer to Spurs from rapper Jay-Z. US investors are backing the New York native, known for hits including ‘H to the Izzo’ and ’99 Problems’, according to the Express.
Jay-Z, who has a net worth of around £2billion himself, has ventured into the sport after owning a stake in the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and had Manchester United star Marcus Rashford on his books at Empire Rock Nation.
Contact levies
Levy and Al-Khelaifi are said to have a close relationship since QSI’s interest in buying Spurs emerged and contact is reportedly being maintained amid links between Harry Kane and PSG. Spurred by talk of a possible move to bring Kylian Mbappe to north London, which has quickly backfired, Spurs could soon see PSG hand over a large sum of money to sell their prize asset.
Levy and Al-Khelaifi are said to have ‘regular exchanges’, according to L’Equipe, and a takeover could develop if PSG are sold with The Telegraph reporting that Spurs have a £3.5 billion price tag following an approach for the club in September 2021.
F1 owner tip
Greg Maffei, CEO of Formula One owners Liberty Media, has hinted that his next sporting venture could be in the Premier League. The American-based mass media company also owns the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball team.
Speaking on the Walker Webcast, he said: “You name the teams in the Premier League; there isn’t an asset that we haven’t looked at. “That doesn’t mean we were ready to buy them all but we look at everything. because we think that sports in general are attractive, we think that there are advantages and we think that the things taught by management teams can help to possibly be applied in other sports situations.”
The Telegraph reported that Liberty Media has been ‘mentioned by an insider’ as a possible option but would not comment on reports.
MSP interest
The Financial Times claimed back in February that Jahm Najafi, chief executive of MSP Sports Capital, was to launch a $3.75 billion (£3bn) bid for Spurs. With Najafi as chairman of MSP Sports Capital, he would lead the approach to the club but a consortium made up of other investors would also provide funding.
It was also reported that the other investors were from the Middle East and that BPA would contribute 70% of the funds for the takeover. The Telegraph reported that Najafi, who now appears set for a move to Everton, was ‘expecting to table a full buyout offer’
Position of Levy
Levy recently broke his silence on a possible takeover during a speech at the Cambridge Union in April last year. “ENIC owns about 87% of the club and we have 30,000 shareholders and most of them are fans who own the shares,” he said.
“It is our duty to consider any proposal that anyone wants to make. “The only thing I would say is that we are not in negotiations with anyone, nor have we been for several months.”
