Daniel Levy has admitted for the first time that he is open to selling a stake in Tottenham, effectively putting the club up for sale.
Levy insists he has “no real interest to leave”, but has said he will consider new investment if it is “right for the club” and can take Spurs to “another level”.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Levy said he has turned down offers in the past from the Far East, the Middle East and America. But the Spurs chairman said he would listen to “serious propositions”, raising the possibility of his more than two-decade tenure coming to an end.
Levy said: “I’ve got no real interest to leave Tottenham, but I have a duty to consider anything that anyone may want to propose. It’s not about me, it’s about what’s right for the club.
“We have 30,000 shareholders who own approximately 13.5 per cent. We run this club as if it is a public company. If anyone wants to make serious propositions to the board of Tottenham, we will consider it along with our advisors. And if we felt it was in the interests of the club, we would be open to anything.”
Levy’s admission effectively means Spurs are the latest Premier League club to go on the market, following the £4.14billion sale of Chelsea in 2022 and the Glazers putting Manchester United up for sale. Liverpool’s FSG owners are also open to outside investment.
ENIC, which is majority-owned by Levy and beneficiaries of Joe Lewis’s family trust, controls 86.6 per cent of Spurs. Levy’s statement is likely to test the market and spark interest from potential buyers and investors.
It remains to be seen if Tottenham will be thrust into a bidding war, but Levy is understood to have held conversations with a number of interested parties in recent months. There has been a feeling from potential investors that he is open to a deal, although Spurs have always denied the club is for sale and insist the owners are fully committed.
The Qatari president of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is understood to have met Levy at a London hotel in January for exploratory talks over buying a minority stake in the club, but cooled on a deal. Spurs deny the meeting took place.
Qatar Sports Investments, which is chaired by Al-Khelaifi, is expected to eventually seek an investment in England as it aims to build a formidable multi-club model. Levy is understood to want to remain at Spurs in a leading capacity even in the event of a sale.
Asked about interest in Spurs in the past, Levy said: “Nothing has been put on our table that we felt had been in the interests of shareholders. We are only custodians of the club. We want to take this club to another level.
“I think we have shown progression over the last 20 years. We have made a big investment in our capital projects, in our team. And if someone came along and we felt they could take us to another level, we’d look at it.”
Levy’s statement comes two months after British billionaire Joe Lewis was indicted on charges of insider trading in America.
Lewis, Levy’s long-time business partner, bought Tottenham from Alan Sugar in 2001, but ceased to be “a person with significant control” at Spurs and ENIC last year, following what the club described as a “reorganisation of the Lewis Family Trusts”, which hold the shares in the club.
Lewis was indicted by New York prosecutors for allegedly “orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme”. He has been charged with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy. Lewis pleaded not guilty and his lawyer said charging the 86-year-old was an “egregious error in judgment”.
In his interview with Bloomberg, Levy also elaborated on the buy-back clause in the deal to sell Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
