Tottenham Hotspur are facing a period of uncertainty after chairman Daniel Levy recently walked out of the club.
Levy, 63, was the Premier League’s longest-serving chairman before his exit last week and helped oversee a transitional period at Spurs, which included their move from White Hart Lane to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Levy was appointed in March 2001, but despite his departure, the Essex businessman is still involved in the ownership of the club. ENIC, the current majority shareholders, have insisted the Lilywhites are not for sale, although rumours suggesting otherwise have hit the headlines.
Are Tottenham Hotspur up for sale?
According to ENIC, a vehicle for running the club owned by the Tavistock Group, which in turn is owned by the Lewis family, Spurs are not for sale.
Following the announcement of Levy’s exit last week, ENIC made a statement suggesting a change of ownership is not being planned, but proposals have been submitted in the last week.
“The Board of Tottenham Hotspur Limited (“Tottenham Hotspur”, the “Club” or the “Company”) is aware of recent media speculation and confirms that its majority shareholder, ENIC Sports & Developments Holdings Ltd (“ENIC”), has received, and unequivocally rejected, separate preliminary expressions of interest in relation to proposals to acquire the entire issued, and to be issued, share capital of ENIC from (i) PCP International Finance Limited (“PCP”); and (ii) a consortium of investors led by Dr. Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk Holdings Limited (the “Consortium”),” a statement began.
“As a consequence of ENIC’s majority ownership interest in Tottenham Hotspur, were any offer made to acquire ENIC and complete, a mandatory offer would be required under Rule 9 of the Code to acquire the shares of Tottenham Hotspur not already held by ENIC.
“The Board of the Club and ENIC confirm that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale and ENIC has no intention to accept any such offer to acquire its interest in the Club.”
PCP International is a Jersey-based company represented by Amanda Staveley, the former Newcastle United minority shareholder, and Firehawk Holdings Limited are part of an American consortium, bolstered by their success via the video-sharing social networking service, Triller.
Who could buy Tottenham?
It appears, for now, both Staveley’s PCP International and a consortium from Firehawk Holdings Limited have a valued interest in Tottenham Hotspur.
The Times say PCP are representing a consortium of ten different investors from Asia, Europe and North America, but there is no Gulf money involved.
Under Tottenham’s ‘Takeover Code’, PCP cannot make another offer for the club for six months after they made a statement on Monday, claiming “it does not intend to make an offer for Tottenham”.
However, ENIC could invite Staveley and her consortium back to the table to negotiate, or the six-month window could be set aside if another formal bid is submitted.
Reports have suggested sources close to the Lewis family trust, which has the majority control of ENIC, which owns 87 per cent of Tottenham, have said that there is no intention of inviting any interested parties back in to discuss a takeover.
Firehawk Holdings, the other rumoured interested party, now has 28 days to make a formal takeover bid or rule itself out of making any offer, with a game of cat and mouse likely to ensue between the two parties.
Will Daniel Levy still have shares?
Levy will remain a shareholder of ENIC, but will cease to have any direct involvement with the club, despite the announcement of his recent exit.
The 63-year-old is expected to continue as a shareholder, unless further changes are made regarding the ownership structure of the club.
Peter Charrington joined Tottenham’s board earlier this year and has stepped into the newly created role of Non-Executive Chairman.
Sporting success remains the aim for Frank and his side, as well as the women’s team, too, with Martin Ho having been recently appointed their new head coach.
