Tottenham could simultaneously finish 17th in the Premier League and become a European champion this season – a pub quiz question in the making, yes, but also a fascinating moment for Daniel Levy’s legacy.
Spurs’ win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-final was fuelled by the kind of grit that has been lacking in Ange Postecoglou’s side’s 22 defeats in all competitions this season
It was, in typically Tottenham fashion, followed by a pitiful defeat to Nottingham Forest a few days later.
It’s not exactly a hot take to say that the North Londoners’ season – and probably Postecoglou’s job – hinges on the Europa League. That has been apparent since Christmas.
The semi-final clash against Bodo/Glimt is perhaps the most financially lopsided fixture at this stage of a European completion in football history – and that’s not hyperbole.
Spurs’ revenue in the last financial year was £528m, down from a club-record £550m the previous season. That was the ninth-highest in world football.
Bodo Glimt’s revenue is up massively since they got into Europe but is still only around £42m.
For context, that’s probably about the amount Spurs banked from non-football events at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year – Beyoncé, the NFL and the like. £42m is also about the same as Bristol City’s revenue last year.
So, needless to say, Spurs really should win this but have no divine right to do so.
If they somehow end their trophy drought this season, they will secure qualification for the Champions League during the most lucrative era in the competition’s history.
For Daniel Levy, that would represent an unqualified success.
As well as delivering revenues likely in excess of £600m next year, it would also define his time as the club’s chairman and co-owner.
Maybe – and this is speculation – it might also represent a natural moment to cash in and sell Tottenham outright. He has been looking for new investment, after all.
If he did choose to divest his personal interest in the club, he would walk away a billionaire. Levy is said to value Tottenham at around £3.75bn.
ENIC meanwhile would get a quite astonishing markup on the £40m or so they paid to buy the club from Alan Sugar almost 25 years ago.
Should there be a takeover, there would be no shortage of buyers thanks to the way ENIC and Levy have run the club for so many years.
It’s a cash profitable business, which is rare bird in football finance. And the latest figures show exactly how lucrative Spurs really are.
Tottenham have £375m cash in the bank, far more than the club accounts show
On paper, Spurs have made a loss every year since they moved into their new stadium.
However, that is primarily because of the deprecation on the stadium. That’s how accountants measure the value of an asset over time. It’s not a cash expense – it’s basically a useful fiction to measure the health of the business as a whole.
When you look at cash flow or a metric like EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) the picture is far rosier. Spurs remain the most profitable club in Premier League history on that basis.
Their corporate structure is relatively complex, consisting of 13 companies registered at Lilywhite House in total.
Research from Jason Stephens titled ‘Premier League Clubs – The Hidden Millions’ for MCO Insights shows that those companies have £2.7bn worth of assets on the books and £375m cash in the bank.
Summer of change for Tottenham
This summer, former Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham will join Spurs, where he will take up the same position underneath Levy in the hierarchy.
As well as Ange Postecoglou’s future being in doubt, so too is that of Scott Munn, the club’s chief football officer.
TBR Football has reported that Fabio Paratici could return to Spurs in a strategic or advisory capacity too once his ban from football has expired.
With £375m in liquid capital, they certainly have the budget to ring the chances behind the scenes.
How rich really are Daniel Levy and ENIC?
Daniel Levy is full-time at Spurs, unlike ENIC, who are now more of a passive presence following Joe Lewis’ conviction for insider trading in 2023.
Little is known about Levy’s investment interests outside Spurs, but he started his career in investment banking and has professed to be very interested in private equity, so he likely has some wealth in that department.
But being a paper billionaire and cash-rich are two very different things. Most of Levy’s net worth, for instance, is tied up in Spurs. That’s a very illiquid asset, and the cash they have in the bank is needed for operating expenses.
He does make a very healthy salary too, but we’re dealing in single-digit millions, not the multiple billions that Spurs are worth.
Joe Lewis still ranks among the richest individual owners in the Premier League, though it is his family estate that now controls his share in Spurs.
However, the consortium model is making individual owners a spent force in football.
Chelsea, for example, have multiple co-owners who are worth billions upon billions. Club valuations are now so high that it’s nigh on impossible for an individual to buy a club like Spurs – at least, not as part of a diversified portfolio.
Sovereign wealth is a similar issue. Incidentally, Qatari sovereign wealth is said to be a potential investment candidate for Spurs.
That said, ENIC and Levy would have no issues with accessing debt if they did want to push the boat out in the transfer market.
We’ve seen other clubs do this with varying degrees of success, though the equity investment route is more sustainable. Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) would certainly be no obstacle.
It’s an academic point, however, as it’s not in the owners DNA to live beyond their means.
“We cannot spend what we do not have,” as Levy himself put it in the preamble to Spurs’ most recent accounts, so don’t expect to see sustained movement away from the self-funding model any time soon.
