Tottenham’s owners are in a “surprising” situation after it’s emerged they don’t have first refusal to buy Daniel Levy’s shares.
That is according to former Everton, Aston Villa and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, who exclusively told Football Insider he expected that to have been included in the shareholder agreement.
Despite leaving his role as executive chairman in September, Levy still has an indirect investment in Tottenham due to his 29.88 per cent share in ENIC, which owns 86.91 per cent of the club.
The Telegraph reported on 5 February the Lewis family, who own the remaining 70.12 per cent of the British investment company, don’t have matching rights or first refusal on Levy’s stake.
However, it is understood the shares hold no voting rights, place on the board or influence on matters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Levy has been in talks to sell his stake in ENIC to a consortium that includes Hong Kong businessman Ng Wing Fai, with the discussions revolving around a £1billion deal.
However, question marks have been raised around the suitability of that group to come in alongside the Lewis family.
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Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness provided his reaction to the reports the Lewis family has no matching rights and Levy’s stake comes with no voting rights.
“I’m slightly surprised at that, but then again you would have thought there would have been first right of refusal at least on that sort of situation,” said Wyness.
“However, that’s not to say that if the Lewis family found a friendly group that they prefer to work with, they could offer them again some voting rights, a seat on the board and also first right of refusal.
“Those things can be changed provided Daniel gets the price he’s looking for and, if he’s happy with the price, then there’s nothing to stop the Lewis family saying to a new group coming in if they believe they can add value and if they are the right friendly group they want to work with, that they could have a say in things, so those things can be changed and it’s not necessarily dead.”
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Wyness insisted the Lewis family may have to offer voting rights to bring in the right sort of partner.
“They may have to do that to attract the right sort of friendly group they want,” said Wyness.
“Now, that could be people either with or without football experience. I’m not sure what the Lewis group would want, but it could be that they like people who’ve been involved in football before, understand it more and give more breadth across the background.
“Or they move for a silent investor. It’s hard to know exactly what they want. But I think all those things could be altered and changed as needed.”
However, Football Insider revealed on Tuesday (10 February) Tottenham’s on-field performances are impacting Levy’s chances of selling his stake in ENIC.
Thomas Frank has now been sacked by Spurs, who currently sit 16th in the Premier League table, just five points above the relegation zone.