Having brokered the Abu Dhabi and PIF-led takeovers of Man City and Newcastle, it’s no surprise to see Amanda Staveley courting Middle East investment again. This time, with Tottenham.
Staveley has assembled a consortium with a view to buying into Spurs, with backers from the Middle East understood to be among those to have registered their interest.
Just as she did when she invested in Newcastle via her PCP Capital Partners vehicle, the 51-year-old financier is unlikely to use her own money if she is to obtain a stake in Tottenham.
At St James’ Park, Staveley borrowed from deal partners the Reuben Brothers to fund her stake.
Paradoxically, she latter paid back that loan with the proceeds from selling the stake back to the Reuben Brothers themselves.
In any case, the sum PIF paid to buy Newcastle outright is utterly dwarfed by the price that Daniel Levy’s next co-investor will pay to acquire just a fraction of Tottenham’s equity.
Levy values Spurs at £3.75bn and, given the 62-year-old’s infamously obstinate negotiation style, any minority partner is unlikely to be given any wriggle room on that figure.
Staveley herself has had a difficult year in terms of her own private wealth.
She was ordered to pay £3.4m to former business associated Victor Restis in a court case in March this year and subsequently narrowly avoided bankruptcy.
The 51-year-old has also shut down a number of the companies she owns alongside husband and business partner Mehrdad Ghodoussi.
Now, however, Staveley has received news that bodes well for her future financial outlook and in turn her ability to personally invest in Tottenham.
Amanda Staveley gets positive omen from Qatar-Barclays case
Staveley’s contact book is almost peerless in the world Middle Eastern finance.
Her connections stretch well beyond football’s business sphere too.
In 2008, she helped broker the deal that saw a member of the Qatari royal family step into take a stake in Barclays in order to prevent the bank from going under.
She later argued in court that she had been denied up to £1bn for assisting the process but, although the hearing ruled that Barclays had committed serious deceit, she was ultimately unsuccessful.
However, this week, The Times have reported that Barclays have accepted a £50m fine in a case relating to the same transaction conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
And although this is separate to Staveley’s personal claim, it could be significant because she is also claiming up to £830m from Barclays in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris.
If the ICC endorses the view of the FCA, that could mean Staveley’s personal wealth is set to soar, giving her the liquidity to personally invest in Spurs.
Real Madrid shake-up the market: The latest in Daniel Levy’s hunt for Tottenham investment
On Monday, Real Madrid Florentino Perez opened the door to private investment for the first time in the club’s history.
Why is that significant? Because the pool of people with the capacity and the inclination to buy into an elite club is limited and the presence of another minority investment prospect on the market will affect Levy’s hunt for a new partner.
In terms of where the money from an equity sale will go, Levy has said that some of the capital will be reinvested into football operations, while some will also go towards capital expenditure projects.
Chief among these appears to be the construction of a hotel on the site of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which could be a major revenue generator for the club.