D-Levy wants to D-List
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 11:30AM Morning.
You'll have seen the financial results and club announcement from Spurs. We plan to 'de-list' the club from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and cease to be a public limited company, mainly for the reason that this (remaining a PLC) restricts us from gaining private investment in order to aid the NDP financially. A private company is the long and winding road we choose to skip down.
"It is clear to us that increasing the capacity of the Club's stadium is a key factor in the continued development and success of the Club and will involve the Company in considerable additional capital expenditure. Given this requirement, we believe that the AIM listing restricts our ability to secure funding for its future development. We are ambitious for the Club and have always taken the steps that we believe to be in its best interests." - Levy
The AGM is on December 13th, so the majority owners of ENIC will propose then that we are de-listed. Won't be an issue, ENIC own 82% of the shares (the remaining small shareholders will be able to sell their shares if they wish).
Long term, ENIC and Levy are positioning themselves for the money shot. Build a new stadium. Maximise potential profits. Sell the club.
No shocking revelation there. ENIC are an investment company with shareholders and as long as the club is left in a healthy state nobody is going to complain when the time comes for Levy to move on (other than myself as I'll have to register a new domain name and writing letters to Daniel will hardly be relevant if he's no longer at the helm). Although hopefully the caveat will stress 'do not sell to anyone with oil money and playboy traits'.
Point is, ENIC are custodians and there is little argument against the fact that we have (in terms of business) been run supremely well in recent years considering we are not a seasoned CL club and still play in a below 40k stadium. That's mainly down to Levy and the fact he has the Tottenham brand to play with and a massively loyaly fanbase to lean on. But that next step is imperative to the ethos of being unequivocally competitive with other clubs that are richer thanks to ticket revenue and over-priced Coca-Cola.
The following quote below doesn't quite inspire, although again this might simply be Levy's siege mentality on gaining the necessary monies the club needs to push the NDP into its phase of reality:
A financing package will need to include bank finance, enabling development and sponsorship. Quite clearly any significant, further investment by the Club would need to be in the context of a commitment by the public sector to undertake public infrastructure works in order to create the environment and confidence to commit further.These would include public sector improvements such as public space upgrades, improved public transport and public realm works, to be delivered in the surrounding area and to contribute to the general uplift of the borough, thereby creating an area in which the Club can justify an investment of hundreds of millions of pounds, secure funding and be a catalyst for further regenerative investment. We are continuing to hold positive and constructive discussions with local, regional and national government as we seek to move this scheme forward.
The rumoured £7.5M Boris has promised is hardly game-changing and we still await to see if a new tube station is forthcoming. A game of Thrones.
Fact is, the club (ENIC) need to push on. We need that new 55+ ground and I have no doubts that's what we'll achieve. Otherwise, there is no progression for Spurs or Levy and therefore nothing for ENIC's shareholders to feast on in the years ahead.
As for the financial results:
Champions League football revenue rose almost £44m to £163.5m
Operating profits up 42% to £32.3m
Costs of maintaining the squad up 35% to £131.2M (compared to 2010 £97.1M)
Club recorded a pre-tax profit of £400,000
More money made thanks to CL, more money spent on general costs and outgoings (new training ground, NDP, debt reduction, player bonuses etc), less tax wastage. It's all good. We're a slick machine in business operating terms, almost as slick as the manner of our football.
CL football will keep us happy and the chairman focused. For now, progress for the NDP is still lost in politics and posturing.
In amongst all the figures, worth also citing the obvious fact that the OS bid is dead. Dodo dead.
Reader Comments (25)
I'm a bit of a financial dummy, but pre-tax profit of 400 000 pounds doesn't seem like a lot. Doesn't that mean even that small amount still has to be taxed? Can someone explain in simple terms?
Has it crossed your mind that Joe Lewis himself may be looking to pump his own money in as opposed to looking for an exit? Sport + Infrastuctre suits his investing pattern if I'm not mistaken! Just thinking ... Will be ontersting to see how this progresses!
£400,000 is no great shakes but beats the £6.5m or so we lost last year. Just go to show how valuable the CL was/is...
Pre-tax profit = Profit for a particular period of time before tax is taken away. 4 hundred K not a lot? Well considering all the outgoings before yout get to the PTP it's probabaly not too bad... but could be better!
Lao San, I'd just spoken to someone who is quite literate in these things and that's what he said - "Spurs sounds like it may be being bought over soon or one of its big shareholders is going to inject big money into it". I repeat this in good faith, I don't know one way or another.
comes a day after george osburne made his statement re plans for massive public/private financed infratrstucture projects to stimulate growth. seesm to be fallnig into place for NDP. Levy was Oxbridge i recall. Member of the Bullingdon?
Which is more profitable?
Selling Spurs without a new stadium and no debt now, or Spurs with a new stadium and a lot of debt in a few years.
Everything ENIC has done (apart from sacking managers) has been done patiently, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them take the second option.
Good to see that it's the Olympic Stadium that is now 'dead in the water' and not the NDP as Levy told us.
I'm just tired of the whole stadium saga. I'd love there to be a timetable, but unfortunately the poker game Levy is playing means we have to wait until we've extracted maximum concessions. It would be nice for potential new players to be told "by 2015 you'll be playing in front of 60K fans" as a means of cementing a Top 4 pedigree, but it could be years before we even get an announcement on breaking ground it seems.
There was an article a while back where some of the WeareN17 members had a discussion with Levy about their concerns as to whether ENIC would sell THFC once they had moved the operation east over to Stratford. He answered that it was more likely ENIC would sell up if the OS bid failed. Perhaps a change of owner is closer than expected.
Dear Mr Arab Billionaire...coming soon.
Lets get the new arab owners in by January and wrap up deals for Tevez, Villa and Ronaldo and get The Special tapped up ready for a summer switch, or sooner is Harry gest sent down!
'Dear Mr. Arab Billionaire'
doesnt have that visceral personal touch of the previous blog name Spooks.
I assume it's just a generic, working title for now.
I can picture you in a dishdasha peering over the garden wall
from the top of a camel.
haha
I'm sure that our prospective Arab billionaire owners will have no problems whatsoever with our strong Jewish heritage. Nope, can't see any problems there at all.
They will pay a couple of billion to pay off historians to re-write our history. Job done.
It all sounds a bit tentative to me, I'm confused as to why the NDP seems to be taking such a long time to actually materialise.
It looks like the show may be on the road, together with rumour of going for full 60,000+ stadium rather than the 56,250 previously planned. If you remember, new stadium was to be built with southern piece missing initially, then old stadium demolished, site cleared and new stadium completed. May go like this - 2012-13 old stadium, 2013-14 old stadium, 2014-15 partial new stadium, 2015-16 fully new stadium. Let's hope so !
Maybe success don't pay. If Spurs get relegated we will clean up. Sell all the stars. Full houses watching players paid peanuts. Not sure why Barca/United haven't thought of it already.
TMWNN - Levy never said that to We Are N17 or anyone. Its no secret they had a Levy Out agenda and continue to spew negativity about the clubs business. In fact they have caused more problems than resolved though thankfully most of us have now realised this. An investment company invests, NDP is an investment, and what happened in March with the preffered shares was obviously going to lead to this. Speculative rumours about selling up are exactly that. All signs and facts point towards NDP, nothing else to the contrary.
The solution is in fact to find a korean benefactor first to re-write the history / our honours board / our accounts. Before selling us on Mr Arab Billionaire Benefactor.
'Dear Mr Kim Jong-un' perhaps?
Jammy Yid,
http://www.docshare.com/doc/436644/We-Are-N17-Statement-02-11
4ht bullet point down. Donna Cullen had them amend and publish just one point in that document, and the point I'm referring to wasn't it. Not that it matters one iota.
As for WeareN17, they're just Tottenham fans who wanted the club to stay in Tottenham and believed it was possible, unlike some who were all too quick to write N17 off and move east.
I'm not saying ENIC are going to sell up before the NDP is built, and I said as much in my first comment, but I wouldn't rule it out completely. Who knows what kind of offers may come in for Spurs in the not too distant future? Do you?
TMWNN
That statement was nearly a year ago, before the preferred bid was even agreed. There have been loads of statements during and since from club, Lammy, and Haringey since that which clearly changes the entirety of the clubs position as described in that statement. Look at the work Martin Cloake has done having met with all parties involved as well as the ckub on several occasions.
We Are N17 created a myth that people wanted to forsake WHL for Stratford when the truth was nearly everyone wanted to stay with NDP on the table and some felt if NDP was dead then, for the good of the clubs future, a move might have to happen. What did We Are N17 contribute to make NDP viable? What did they actually do to sway OPLC? We were never going to get it because of running track and that was always clear. There was never a need for We Are N17 unless they had solutions. I have yet to hear of any single significant bearing they had in this matter other than cause problems and divisions amongst the fans. And most importantly drove a wave of anamosity against Levy giving him less incentive to stay.
We Are N17 were a bunch of fans that wanted to be written in to folklore as the saviours of our club. And by all accounts were quite prepared to run a Tottenham FC out of WHL if Levy did move. And the follow up Levy Out campaign that was prepared would have been something to see.
Again, Martin Cloake and Spurs Future have gone about the business of getting NDP back on track with little or no fanfare. Even seen Lammy congratulating them last week on getting us this far. Obviously they are doing something very right, and their timing was perfect.
Indeed, never say never, could sell in the morning if he wanted. Fact is I dont think he does want to. And I dont think any would buy for any significant amount of money in its current state. New stadium is good for us and good for Levy and Lewis, even if they dont sell the investment and reward would be significant enough to stay. NDP is going to happen, question is when.
And I am sorry if it seems I am having a go, I am not really. I am passionate about NDP and frustrated that we have so called fans like We Are N17 that potentially could have forced Levy's hand and pushed him out when they had no need to interfere. Any talk of selling was an agenda they pushed as well. Lets see a new stadium first then we will worry about what oil baron is going to buy us :)
"Having a go"? No. Confused? Yes.
We both agree that ENIC are more likely to sell after the stadium is built and not before. I just voiced a vague recollection of something Levy had said. You stated that he didn't say it to anyone. He did - fact, when he said it is neither here nor there.
You then make We Are N17 to be the villains in the piece, and to brand them 'so called fans'. To say that they had no need to interfere is plain silly. There will always be few loose mongrels that attach themselves to any cause, but the majority of the people who supported WeAreN17 were 'passionate' fans just like yourself. Did they influence anything? No. Thankfully, the result of the bid made it quite clear that ENIC/AEG never really stood a fair chance of moving Spurs east. But when exactly did you want people to interfere, after ENIC/AEG had won the bid and convinced the easily convinced, such as your good self, that the NDP was in fact a definite non-runner?
Maybe you're one of these people who still believe that there was never any real intention to move to Stratford - it was all an elaborate plan to strong arm the government into using tax payers money to help fund a project that stands to make a private investment company an absolute fortune when they do inevitably sell. That did of course become the plan, but it wasn't the preferred one.
Levy has done an excellent job in keeping Spurs competitive whilst not putting the club, like most others, into debt; a juggling act extraordinaire if you like - he deserves full credit for it, but Levy's first priority lies with ENIC and how much money they can make out of Spurs, regardless of ethics or emotion. You and others would do well to remember that the next time you slag off those 'so called fans'.
First, fair play, they have it on record as having him saying it and he has not asked for the comment to be amended. Again, that long ago since it came out it is obviously something I have not retained in the noggin.
I am not slagging off fans in the general sense that you seem to think I am. I am having a go at a group of people that done absolutley nothing to get NDP going again and probably pushed us closer to going. You do not force the hand of a man like Levy. Plus, these people had a very clear agenda of getting Levy out. That was the end game. Don't believe me, ask those that walked away from the group when the agenda became clearer.
And by group I don't mean those that signed petitions and agreed with what they were doing. Fair play to those that did. They were aligning themselves to a cause that they were passionate about. And we all were, just a lot of us seen through We Are N17, mainly by their individual reputations.
I talking about the people that actually sat down and formed the group and decided it would be a great idea to split the fans right down the middle on an issue that, until prefered bidder was anounced, they had no influence over whatsoever (despite their claims of victory when West Ham was prefered bidder). There was no reason for them to suggest to anyone that be following their lead any change was going to be made. And I think we are both agreed the served no practical purpose.
I care enough about my club and the supporters I have shared many years of cheers, laughter, and tears, with to say categorically it is disgusting that a few people used the stadium issue as a platform for egos. Robin Hood's they aint. Their underlying motivation was a lot more sinister and they lost some key members when that motivation was more apparent.
Retaining running track = 14-0 against. And many fans knew that was going to be the case. Paul Kelso, David Conn, all the media boys could see it coming too. And yes, after prefered winner was announced (not the bid winner) then probably, if Spurs had of been victorious, then yes, AFTER that was the time to picket, petition, and lobby. That was the time when fan power could have made a difference. And to be honest, if Spurs had of won it Lammy and co. would have stopped dragging their arses on issues it took a series of riots to address.
And mark my words, We Are N17 will play on the threat of a sale pre-NDP to put themselves right in the mix and divide us once more.
Don't believe me? Show me one positive comment any (current) member of the group has had to say but any aspect of the club or team since they sprouted up. Better yet, look at how they round up and attack Martin Cloake anytime he posts about progress his group has made. They make a hobby of trying to turn people against the club, fact!
And again, my apologies to you. You are clearly passionate about the situation as I and most others. I just wish people would take a moment to step back and realise the damage a very small group of individuals has done. We had it with TAG back in the day, do we really need it again? Taken nearly a year to get things back on track for NDP. Didnt see anyone cry "sale" when the preference shares were converted in March. The end of year announcements were the inevitable consequence of that. I hope for the sake of the future of the club and NDP they do not show their faces again.
Spooky, apologies for the waffle ;)
You seem a reasonable and polite chap, but I can't let your statement of "I just wish people would take a moment to step back and realise the damage a very small group of individuals has done" go unaddressed. What damage? If you're referring to the division in the Tottenham ranks, there would be none if another 'small group of individuals' hadn't got involved in the fiasco known as Stratford in the first place.