Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy blocked a 50 per cent sale of the club as he was unwilling to cede control,
Football Insider can reveal.
But financial sources have revealed in more detail to
Football Insider how the investors pulled the plug on talks as “Levy did not want to lose control”.
A deal was on the table at the end 2020 for a 50 per cent sale of the Tottenham in a deal worth £800million.
It would have seen Lewis-owned investment group ENIC maintain a 50 per cent stake in Tottenham and valued the club at £1.6billion.
However, Levy, who runs the London giants on Lewis’ behalf, did not want to lose his final say in decision-making and strategy.
That led to the potential investors calling a halt and walking away from the negotiating table.
“Levy wouldn’t give them any control, so they pulled out,” the source explained.
It comes at a time when Lewis has sanctioned brokers to find and assess potential buyers or investors in the club.
The 84-year-old is actively looking for a buyer for the club he has owned through ENIC since a
2001 acquisition from Alan Sugar.
There have been rumours of potential takeovers at Tottenham for many years, but the possibility is now considered more likely than at previous times.
The Londoners have been badly hit during the pandemic and Levy revealed in the last annual report that the club will lose an “irrecoverable” £150million this season from having no fans.
Spurs announced a whopping £63.9m loss in their most recent set of
financial results. That was Tottenham’s first loss since 2012 but profits have surged in the last decade, although debts have mounted as a result of paying for the club’s 62,000-capacity new stadium.