From Valued at $66 Million to $2.8 Billion in 20 Years 🤯
How did Tottenham become the 9th most valued soccer team in the world
Tanyo G
August 11, 2023
GM.
Life, sometimes, has funny timing.
Last week, I covered Milk Road’s growth and how the numbers didn’t add up.
A few days later, a fight broke out on Twitter between their former growth person and Shaan.
I covered it on Twitter, and Shaan blocked me.
As someone smarter than me probably said, “Never meet or Tweet at your heroes.”
Today, I’ll be covering my favorite football club, Tottenham Hotspur.
You’ll learn how it went from worth around $66 million to almost $3 billion.
While I’m writing this, there’s a huge transfer saga involving the potential sale of one of their star players.
I guess I always find the right time to write and post these pieces 😂😂😂
Now into today’s topic.
Who Owns Tottenham Hotspur?
Joe Lewis (Left) and Daniel Levy (right)
The investment company, ENIC International, owns 85% of the club.
ENIC, which stands for English National Investment Company, is owned by Joe Lewis’ family trust.
Who’s Joe Lewis?
He’s a British billionaire who made his fortune in the 80s shorting the British pound.
Right now, he’s under investigation in the US for insider trading.
I’ll cover him in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.
But the club is not in trouble because it’s not run by Joe Lewis.
It’s run by his close friend and ENIC’s co-owner, Daniel Levy, who is chairman of the club.
Levy was the person who became interested in football clubs.
So in the 90s, ENIC bought stakes in six clubs across Europe, including Tottenham.
They bought a 29% stake in the club.
However, ENIC were forced to sell all the stakes they owned in the other clubs due to UEFA’s rules.
According to the rules, clubs with the same owners can’t compete in the same competition.
This rule made ENIC focus exclusively on Tottenham, and over time, they would end up owning over 85% of the club.
How Tottenham’s Value Increased 40x In The Past 20 Years
Source: The Gaming Portal
ENIC bought a 29% stake in Tottenham for $22 million in 2001.
This stake today would be worth over $933 million, a staggering 40x increase in value.
The entire club is valued at more than $2.8 billion, making it the 9th highest valued soccer club in the world, ahead of the likes of Arsenal and Juventus.
Three things have contributed to this increase:
Building a New Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the third-largest stadium in England, with over 62,000 seats.
It has a retractable pitch that allows it to host NFL games and concerts.
This has opened the club for new potential revenue streams such as:
NFL partnerships
Tottenham signed a 10-year partnership with the NFL to host 2 NFL games a year worth over $40 million.
Hosting events like concerts and boxing matches
Artists like Guns N’ Roses, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce have all performed in the stadium, generating tens of millions of dollars in revenue.
There have been a few boxing matches in the stadium as well, like Joshua vs Pulev and Joshua vs Usyk.
Hosting races for the go-karting championship
They signed a 15-year motorsport deal with Formula One worth over $24 million per year.
Naming rights
Right now, the stadium is called Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the club is actively looking for a partner for their naming rights.
They’re looking to get $20-$25 million per year for the naming rights.
Better On and Off Field Performances
In the past 10 years, Tottenham has consistently finished in the top places in the English Premier League.
In the majority of these seasons, Tottenham competed in European competitions.
This earned them extra revenue.
Going Global
In the last 20 years, the English Premier League has become a powerhouse of competition, turning English clubs into global brands.
Tottenham took advantage of that.
They went after the Asian market, getting over 180 million fans worldwide, with 80 million of them living in Asia.
Another huge reason for Tottenham’s popularity in Asia is one of their star players, Heung-Min Son.
He’s the captain of the South Korean national team and has consistently been in the top 5 of the Forbes Korea celebrity list.
Tottenham’s popularity in Asia is evident because they go on a pre-season tour almost every year.
Biggest takeaway:
Build out the foundation first.
Tottenham built their stadium, which allowed them to attract more sponsors, partners, and events.
This move has made them the 9th highest-valued football club in the world, worth over $2.8 billion.
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