It’s official, Amanda Staveley former joint-owner of Newcastle United has confirmed she has dropped her interest in buying Tottenham Hotspur. Staveley has spent weeks floating a bid for the Premier League London club to her possible backers. She is reportedly going to make an official announcement this Monday. This announcement comes at a time of major change on the board at Tottenham, with chairman Daniel Levy’s long tenure coming to an end with his exit from the club.
Levy served as chairman for almost 25 years. He resigned in order to build new leadership and momentum inside the club. For the club, his exit signals a vital turning point in Tottenham’s recent history. The club has undergone remarkable change in just the last 25 years. The club has become a prominent name in global football, participating in European competitions in 18 of the last 20 seasons and investing significantly in its academy, players, and facilities, including a new stadium and training center.
ENIC Group, which owns an estimated 87 percent of Tottenham Hotspur, essentially refuses to sell its stake in American soccer. Those minority shares are now owned by several different investors, Levy reportedly retaining closer to 30 percent of ENIC. Despite the recent discussions surrounding potential ownership changes, a source close to the Lewis family, which controls ENIC, stated, “The club is not for sale.”
In the intervening months, Levy retained Rothschild, investment banking firm. In doing so his goal was to attract millions of dollars in new capital for expansion and reinvestment in Tottenham Hotspur. Levy is long gone, and Staveley has in any case walked away from the City’s talks to acquire Tottenham. This threatens to leave the club’s immediate future in limbo.
Staveley and her hubby, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, resigned from their roles at Newcastle United last summer. They had been acting as directors and minority co-owners of the firm since October 2021. Their hands-on approach to football fueled plenty of intrigue. Suddenly there was hope that these could be for winning bids – for other teams, Tottenham as well.
As the situation develops, Staveley’s decision not to proceed with a bid brings clarity to the ongoing narrative surrounding Tottenham’s ownership structure. Moving forward, the club’s ownership will be understandably tempted to keep their competitive edge while seeking new leadership options.
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