ENIC International Limited Owner Joe Lewis in the stands with Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy (R) (Photo by Catherine Ivill/AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)
Corbis via Getty ImagesEnglish soccer team Tottenham Hotspur has been on the block for a while. But now that controlling owner Joe Lewis has been indicted on alledged insider trading sports bankers say a sale is likley.
Lewis has a net worth of $6.1 billion.
According to Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, Lewis owns 70.6% of the English soccer team via Tavistock Group, an international private investment family office that is comprised of a trading operation and a portfolio of public investments and private real estate, lodging, retail, sports, biotechnology, agriculture, and finance.
Ownership structure for the English side.
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust"None of this was necessary. Joe Lewis is a wealthy man," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a video on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.
"But as we allege he used inside information as a way to compensate his employees or shower gifts on his friends and lovers," Williams continued. "That's classic corporate corruption. It's cheating. And it's against the law."
Lewis bought a controlling stake in Tottenham Hotspur from Alan Sugar for $28 million (£22m) in 2001. The value of the English side is now $2.8 billion. A big reason for the increase in the team’s values is that it owns its new $1.3 billion stadium, which opened in 2019.
Sports team valuations have been booming across the pond and in North America as buyers have increasingly upped the multiples of revenue they are willing to pony up. Last year English soccer team Chelsea changed hands for $3.09 billion and the NFL’s Denver Broncos went for a then-record $4.65 billion. The sale of another football team, the Washington Commanders, was just approved by NFL owners for a record $6.05 billion—an incredible 11 times revenue.
A few more richly priced transactions may soon become realized. Michael Jordan has been given the nod by the NBA to sell the Hornets for a $3 billion, or 11 times revenue. The sale of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators for $975 million—7.5 times revenue—is awaiting a vote by the league’s board of governors. Mancheters United, worth $6 billion, has been on the market for several months.
Rising multiples.
Forbes