LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur, the English Premier League football team owned by the Lewis family, has told minority shareholder and former chairman Daniel Levy that he missed the deadline to participate in a team share issue.
The club recently raised money through the issue of new shares in ENIC Sports Inc, a holding company that has a controlling interest in Tottenham.
The Lewis family announced it had invested £100mil (US$135mil) in the shares and had offered Levy the opportunity to participate in accordance with his stake.
Levy first requested an extension to the timetable, said a person close to the Lewis family, who asked not to be identified because the information was private. He then committed to funding and was given 10 further days to fund.
The person added that Levy hasn’t funded and the deadline has passed, meaning that his stake in ENIC will be diluted from its current level of around 29%.
That means that Tottenham, which narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League last season, will lose out on a further contribution from Levy.
But the club has received around £200mil from the Lewis family since September. The Lewis family declined to comment. Levy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tottenham, despite performing poorly last season, is still one of the most valuable teams in England.
Its revenues have been boosted by a modern stadium that also hosts National Football League games, boxing matches and concerts.
Amid clashes involving billionaire Joe Lewis and his family, Levy left his role as executive chairman of the club in September after nearly 25 years in charge.
Levy and Lewis had been in business for decades through an investment trust initially known as English National Investment Co, or ENIC.
The pair acquired stakes in several European clubs, including Tottenham in 2001.
While Levy’s focus remained largely on the club, Lewis continued to build his fortune through the Tavistock Group, which he founded.
Lewis and his family are now worth about US$9.6bil, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In 2022, Lewis relinquished control of Tottenham, transferring his majority stake in ENIC to the Lewis Family Trust.
In 2024, he pleaded guilty to US charges of insider trading and securities fraud and was pardoned the following year by President Donald Trump. — Bloomberg
