According to reports, Amanda Staveley’s ‘interest’ in Tottenham Hotspur is ‘genuine’ as she ‘seeks to take majority stakes in big assets’.
Staveley was part of the consortium that bought Newcastle United from Mike Ashley as she purchased a 10% stake in the Premier League at the end of 2021. PIF bought an 80% share, while the Reuben Brothers had the other 10%.
The 51-year-old was heavily involved in Newcastle’s rapid rise under PIF as they rose from being a relegation candidate to being back in the Champions League.
However, the 2023/24 campaign was difficult for Newcastle as they exited the Champions League at the group stages and finished seventh in the Premier League.
There was a major overhaul at Newcastle in the summer as new sporting director Paul Mitchell replaced Dan Ashworth, while Staveley sold her stake in the club and gave up her role as chairman.
It’s since emerged that Staveley was ‘forced out’ of St James’ Park and she would be open to buying a stake in another Premier League club.
Responding to reports linking her with Tottenham, Staveley refused to close the door on her joining another Premier League club.
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Staveley said: “Mehrdad and I are keen to be hands-on. We’re hard-working people, I love to be very busy and to engage and I love football.
“Very sadly, we have to move on to other projects and that might involve us taking a stake in another club or buying another club and that’s difficult. But it’s possible.”
A new report from The Athletic claims Staveley’s ‘interest’ in Spurs is ‘genuine’ and she has a ‘plan’ to take a ‘majority stake’.
‘Sources with knowledge of Staveley’s plans say her interest in Spurs is genuine and has picked up pace over the last few months. They say her fund has a global remit, with investors from the United States to the Middle East rather than having a single, state-owned investment fund behind it like PIF.
‘The idea with Spurs would be to take an initial minority stake — this is what she has been working on — but ultimately her fund is seeking to take majority stakes in big assets and has also been looking at sporting franchises in other countries. Much as she did at Newcastle, Staveley is keen to build community links and to be “hands-on” as she said above.’
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While Spurs were among the clubs to have opposed Newcastle’s takeover by PIF, Staveley is said to have formed a positive relationship with Levy when they worked together on the Premier League’s Financial Controls Advisory Group and has spoken in private about the respect she has for him.
‘Yet deals such as this are rarely straightforward and it is also worth remembering that over the years there have been plenty of talks about possible investments into Spurs. The view at Tottenham right now is roughly that this is just noise about nothing.’
It is also noted that it ‘would certainly be a big surprise to see Staveley owning part of Tottenham and working alongside the existing board’ as ‘there has been remarkable boardroom stability at the top over the last 24 years’.
‘Tottenham always pride themselves on running things a certain way, on being a quiet, private, discreet organisation, headed up by the same people for almost one quarter-century. Staveley’s reputation is as one of English football’s disruptors, a broker who, like all good brokers, knows how to generate noise.
‘On the surface, they do not seem like an obvious fit. But people doubted Staveley before she arranged the Newcastle United takeover in 2021. If she could pull this one off, it would be one of the biggest stories in years.’