The chief executive of Tottenham, Vinai Venkatesham, has said the Lewis family intend their ownership to “continue through the generations” after two takeover approaches were revealed to have been knocked back.
Venkatesham was speaking after a tumultuous week for Tottenham. Last Thursday the executive chairman Daniel Levy was relieved of his role in a shock announcement. Then on Sunday night Spurs said they had “unequivocally rejected” two expressions of interest in relation to buying the club.
“I can be really clear on this,” Venkatesham told Tottenham’s official channels on Monday. “The Lewis family are really clear. They see their involvement in Tottenham Hotspur being long term and they see their involvement continuing through the generations.
“We made a statement very late last night and a statement I hope was unambiguously clear that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale.”
On Sunday Tottenham laid out details of the expressions of interest, saying one had originated from PCP International Finance, the investment vehicle led by the former Newcastle shareholder Amanda Staveley. On Monday PCP confirmed it had been interested in a potential move but said “it does not intend to make an offer for Tottenham”. The second offer, according to Spurs, had been made by a consortium of investors “led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk Holdings Limited”.
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Venkatesham, who joined Spurs in April after four years as chief executive of Arsenal, said he had anticipated working for “many years” with Levy when he took the role and praised him as “a wonderful support and counsel” during their time together at the club. He said the “next generation” of the Lewis family – Viv Lewis, alongside her brother Charlie and son-in-law Nick – would assume more prominence at the club. “The thing that ties them all together is their passion for Tottenham Hotspur and their ambition for the club moving forward,” he said.
Hinting that the club were ready to spend more money in the transfer market, Venkatesham said the owners were keen to create a sense of stability. “I think it is very fair to say that we have firm backing from the Lewis family against our ambitions to be successful on the pitch, both on the men’s side and women’s side,” he said.
“[The Lewis family] know there’s been lots of change at the club, and now it’s time for some calm and for some stability. They believe and trust in the people that we have working in the organisation. Their model is all about empowering the people we have on the ground to deliver against the ambition they have and of course the ambition that we all share.”
