Tottenham Hotspur have moved to quash speculation over a potential sale, confirming they have rejected two preliminary takeover approaches — one from Amanda Staveley’s PCP International Finance and the other from a Chinese consortium.
The north London club issued a statement late on Sunday night after a weekend of mounting rumours following the shock departure of long-serving executive chairman Daniel Levy. Spurs said they had been forced to clarify the situation under UK takeover rules, stressing that majority owner Enic Sports & Developments Holdings Ltd has “no intention” of entertaining offers.
“The Board of Tottenham Hotspur Limited is aware of recent media speculation and confirms that its majority shareholder, Enic Sports & Developments Holdings Ltd, has received, and unequivocally rejected, separate preliminary expressions of interest,” the statement read.
The bids were said to have come from Staveley’s company and from a consortium led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk Holdings Limited. Under takeover rules, both PCP and the Chinese consortium must now announce by 5 October whether they intend to make a formal offer. If they do not, they will be barred from returning with a bid for a set period unless circumstances change.
Tottenham underlined that the clarification should end speculation over a possible change in ownership. “The Board of the Club and Enic confirm that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale and Enic has no intention to accept any such offer,” the statement added.
Sources close to the Lewis family trust, which controls Enic’s 87 per cent stake in Spurs, have also insisted the club is not on the market.
The announcement comes amid significant upheaval at the Premier League side, with Levy stepping down last week after almost a quarter of a century in charge. Peter Charrington, who joined as a non-executive director earlier this year, has been installed as non-executive chairman and was named in the official statement as the person responsible for arranging its release.
While Spurs have recently been linked with takeover interest from several quarters, the club’s owners remain determined to retain control, pointing to the ongoing investment in infrastructure and commercial growth. Tottenham, valued at close to £3 billion, opened their 63,000-seat stadium in 2019 and reported annual revenues of more than €615 million in Deloitte’s Football Money League earlier this year.
For now, despite the speculation stirred by Levy’s exit, Tottenham’s board is emphatic: Spurs are not for sale.
Read more:
Tottenham Hotspur reject takeover approaches from Amanda Staveley and Chinese consortium