‘To dare is too dear’ is the clever twist on Tottenham’s motto that unhappy fans in North London have aimed the club’s owners, Daniel Levy and ENIC, as they lobby for greater investment.
Spurs are loaded. The 10th richest club in the world by annual revenue last season, they exist at the apex of football’s financial food chain and the game’s governance structures favour them massively.
Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) are a non-issue for Tottenham. There is only handful of clubs worldwide who have more headroom under the Premier League and UEFA’s spending regulations.
Cold, hard cash isn’t a problem either. In the coming weeks, Spurs will release their accounts for the 2023-24 financial year. Last year, they had almost £200m in the bank. It will be a similar story this time too.
Yes, Spurs have transfer instalments and a £218m wage bill pay for, plus capital expenditure commitments and over £800m worth of stadium debt to clear.
But the Premier League’s lowest wages-to-turnover ratio, amortisation costs that are modest by ‘Big Six’ standards, and the exceptional deal Daniel Levy got on the loans means they always have a cash surplus.
Even if ENIC – whose personal wealth, like their actual league position under Ange Postecoglou, is in the bottom half of Premier League club owners – didn’t have the money to hand, they would have options.
Spurs had a £50m revolving credit facility – an overdraft, essentially – with HSBC that expired in December 2024 which they have not used.
All that is a roundabout way of saying that Levy’s cost control is second to none in an era of wild wage inflation in football. He recognises that once you open the door a crack, the wind can blow it wide open.
But that is exactly what protesting Tottenham fans are unhappy with: the owners’ ultra-conservative approach.
It’s true that spending on recruitment and retention has soared since the move to the money-printing Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although revenue is rising faster than wages and transfer amortisation.
The counterargument is that Spurs have simply kept their heads while many of their rivals – Chelsea and Manchester United in particular – have lost theirs in football’s financial arms race.
But the lack of silverware speaks for itself – it is the monkey on Levy’s back that, unless Postecoglou’s side can win a hotly-contested Europa League, will not go away in 2024-25.
There are no guarantees that increased investment would deliver the trophies that fans and Levy, as a Spurs fan, crave. But there is a direct correlation between spending (wages) in particular and success.
Where they have spent, they have not done so particularly well. There have been more misses than hits in their top 10 or 15 most expensive transfers.
The consensus therefore is that new ideas and new money are needed in N17. Levy and ENIC appear to agree, at least to an extent.
For several years, Tottenham have been open to investment, either in the form of a full or partial takeover.
Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners are interested. Qatari investors from the private and sovereign wealth sector have been linked too.
And now, an update has emerged regarding another potential source of investment.
Private equity takeover could be bad for Tottenham, says Kieran Maguire
In a former life, Daniel Levy worked in investment banking and has said he was particularly interested in the private equity sector.
Private equity has invested heavily in football teams, leagues and media rights in recent years.
Chelsea are majority owned by Clearlake Capital, while Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester City and a number of other Premier League clubs feature private equity firms in their ownership structures.
It is a divisive model in sport just as it is in the wider business sphere. Critics have pointed at short-term profit focus, high debt to equity ratios, and cost cutting as private equity’s signature brushstrokes.
“The goal of private equity is to maximise returns for investors who put the money into the PE funds,” says Liverpool University football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to TBR Football.
“Those investors are not necessarily interested in football. Their main focus is on getting as much money as possible off the back of their investments.“
Last week in a report on the status of Levy’s search for new investment in Spurs, Bloomberg reported that US private equity firms are among those to have held talks with the club.
What would private equity ownership or co-ownership of Spurs look like?
“They could see Spurs as a model whereby the aim is to increase revenues,” says Maguire, who is well-connected in the mergers and acquisitions business.
“That could be through price rises for fans and increased merchandise price.
“They wouldn’t necessarily invest heavily enough on the pitch for Spurs to win trophies but just enough to make sure they are broadly competitive and getting perhaps a top five or top six position.
“On the back of that, they would get into Europe, which is where the money is.
“Whether that would satisfy the Spurs fanbase, who are becoming increasingly vocal and frustrated with the way the club is being run is open to question.
“Because of the aims of private equity, you could end up with a situation whereby you’re even more unhappy than you are with the current regime under Daniel Levy and ENIC.”
Every name linked with Spurs investment amid Daniel Levy talks
TBR Football understands that one private equity firm, MSP Sports Capital, reached a relatively advanced stage of due diligence for a Spurs takeover a few years ago.
However, the American group eventually pivoted to Everton and, following the sale of the Toffees to US businessman Dan Friedkin, it is not believed they have returned to the negotiating table in N17.
Liberty, the company that owns Formula One and the MLB franchise Atlanta Braves, have also previously been linked, albeit loosely.
As well as Staveley and the supposed Qatari interest in Spurs, Crystal Palace co-owner David Blitzer has been suggested as another potential bidder, although that would require him to sell his Palace stake.
Another Premier League club owner, Todd Boehly, held talks with Levy before he bought into Chelsea.
One of his investment partners, Jonathan Goldstein, is a Spurs fans and, with the American private equity billionaire’s status at Chelsea up in the air, there could theoretically be a chance to return to the table.
However, with Levy’s £3.75bn valuation of Tottenham believed to be a sticking point, the gears are turning very slowly.
Supporters desperate for fresh investment may be waiting a little while longer yet.