With the team at a low ebb on the pitch and unhappiness with the owners at an all-time high, many Tottenham fans are hoping Amanda Staveley may bring them a Christmas miracle.
Daniel Levy and ENIC have owned N17 for more than 20 years, making them the Premier League’s longest-serving owners.
In the realm of football finance, the regime – which no longer includes Joe Lewis after his conviction for insider trading last year – is among the most revered in the sport.
The transfer to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is widely regarded as the single most transformative event in the club’s history, both in terms of money and prestige.
That, combined with Levy’s reputation as a ferocious negotiator and commercial genius, has ensured Spurs’ owners’ stature in boardrooms across the UK and internationally.
On the terraces, however, Levy and ENIC are perceived as significantly less charitable.
Ange Postecoglou’s side’s 6-3 loss to Liverpool last Sunday exemplified many of the culture difficulties that have plagued the North London club for years.
They will be 11th in the Premier League league come Christmas. And 2025 will mark their seventeenth consecutive calendar year without a trophy.
So when Amanda Staveley, a semi-messianic figure among Newcastle United fans, expressed an interest in Tottenham, Spurs fans’ imaginations were naturally piqued.
Staveley has raised £500 million for a new football investment project, as well as a full takeover of AS Monaco, and has been linked with a minority stake in Tottenham.
Since her attention piqued in June, there have been few new updates.
However, Companies House, the UK’s corporate registrar, has allowed the occasional peep into the Middle East-focused financier’s activities.
There have been additional changes on that front this week.
Paperwork confirms Amanda Staveley has paid off her Newcastle United loan.
When Staveley purchased Newcastle in 2021 alongside the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Reuben Brothers, she borrowed money from the Rueben brothers to fund the transaction.
Paradoxically, it was claimed that when she sold her stock to the Reuben Brothers for a profit earlier this year, she utilized the proceeds to repay the debt she had taken from the company.
According to Greg Cordell, a finance specialist and creator of the Vanity, Sanity, and Reality newsletter, that arrangement appears to be all but established.
According to Companies House papers, the Rueben Brothers are due approximately £58 million, which includes the amount they financed to Staveley and is up £17 million from the previous year.
Because the paperwork is dated March, Staveley’s assumed repayment of the debt is not included in the filing.
However, as Cordell points out, it appears that Staveley’s borrowing is reflected in the Reuben Brothers’ books.
What does this signify for Staveley and her plans to invest in Spurs?
Ultimately, the two economic interests aren’t directly related, but they do shed light on Staveley’s financial predicament.
Staveley, like Newcastle, was unlikely to invest her personal money in Spurs.
With Levy valuing Spurs at about £3.75 billion, even a small minority share is far beyond her personal riches.
Her consortium is said to include investors from the Middle East and the United States, but nothing else is known about the group’s composition.
If she were to invest in Spurs, it would most likely be through her investment company, PCP Capital Partners, which she runs with husband and business partner Mehrdad Ghodoussi.
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