Interpretation of the 18 mandates of Daniel Levy [opinion]

If we pay reasonable attention to the performance of ENIC
and Daniel Levy, rather than just grabbing a rope and looking for a tree
(metaphorically speaking here; comments section below!), we need to be
rational, balanced and mature in our deliberations. Like ‘H’ said about the
January transfer window, credit where credit is due.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR LEISURE LTD (13009782)
Regarding THFC Limited, credits and debits are on the balance
company records and reports. This is where we will look
now. Pour yourself a stiff one, buckle up in your seats ’cause it
inevitably raise very controversial issues.
TOTTENHAM RESIDENTIAL LTD (13009632)
What the Companies House accounts show us is that the THFC is not a
football club with a cookie jar for petty cash. Where our club has gone
under ENIC is a journey into a very complex financial organization made up of many parts and requiring competent and skillful management at board level. We’re not talking about what we fans want our club to be or how our football is played, we’re taking a cold shower on what’s out there now.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR HOTEL LTD (13009818)
It is not a question of building a case for the defense but of an accounting style,
cold-blooded, reptilian, brainstem look what’s on the dissecting table.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR WOMEN’S FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED (10863537)
Open THFC spill accounts, a complex convolution that is the
the guts of the company. Businesses spring up everywhere you look and, having
an owner based in a tax haven, it’s not unreasonable to assume that what’s on the Companies House register isn’t all there is. several million pounds
individual companies always seek to protect themselves from
taxation and prying eyes.
FAIRGATE TOTTENHAM LIMITED (10986093)
You don’t need 20/20 vision to see that Daniel Levy is a rated director
against 18 companies. Not an unusual number of positions for the CEO of
such an organization and how they are all related to each other is a story of its
own. As you can see, I am listing each of the 18 companies registered at
Lilywhite House, N.17, and of which Mr. Levy is a director.
What interests us above all is what we can discover
published accounts of something called Tottenham Hotspur Limited from
June 2021. Interestingly, this company is the latest in the list of Levy director positions published at Companies House.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FOOTBALL CLUB HOLDINGS LIMITED (10443734)
Having a director role in 18 businesses and those that aren’t the local fish and chip shop or family cleaning business, but organizations dealing with hundreds of millions of pounds must be time consuming. How do you fit all of this into a day’s work?
Something must surely give? Maybe that’s why our transfer windows are always last minute jobs?
But give Daniel his due, there are few Spurs fans who could run what is a multinational corporate organization as that is where our club came under ENIC. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM LIMITED (10151725)
MELDENE LIMITED (07623351) Accounts is very interesting reading for anyone who is excited about the kind of things auditors and accountants talk about to keep the curtains drawn. At the beginning, it is stated on page two that: “The principal activities of the Group continue to be the operation of a
professional football club in England and associated commercial
Activities.” TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM DEVELOPMENT LIMITED (10148712)
What’s interesting then is where our main income comes from as a football club. We have a problem here with the COVID lockdown and closed stadium doors. Gate receipts were £0.3m for the period, but we get a better idea by looking at the accounts for the previous year, 2020, when gate funds were £31.1m.
European football has brought us £25.6m. National Cup competitions
earned us £0.03m. Television and media £184.4 million. Corporate sponsorship and hospitality revenue was £115.1 million. Other COVID impacted revenue by £15.7m (2020: £44.5m). Then there’s merchandising which brings in £22.5million.
CANVAX LIMITED (06224771)
Let’s go back to our first question: “Where has our club gone under ENIC? If we look at the main income from the pitch, we have around £57m out of a total income of £361.9m. It is our main football activity, representing 16% of our total income. 84% of turnover does not come from the main activity.
GREENBAY PROPERTY LIMITED (06168158)
OK, so everyone yells “WTF are you talking?” because the TV
and media rights are all based on football, sponsorship and
merchandising and even pints poured in seconds all rely on us to be a
soccer club. Well, that’s correct from one point of view, but our context here is what ENIC turned us into and the best way to look at that is to ask another question, “What exactly will a potential buyer see in Tottenham Hotspur Limited when viewing the accounts?”
NORTHUMBERLAND DEVELOPMENT LIMITED (06279989)
In section 172 (1) Declaration on page 4, directors sign their objectives and
“Long-term consequences”. And here we have exactly what they say:
Long-term sustainability/viability of the business model.
Our economic model in the future allows the Group to be less dependent
on football revenue. While the operation of a professional football club
remains our core business, the construction of THS has enabled our
business model to focus on new and diversified revenue streams.
And, after talking about the development of “non-football events” such as concerts,
rugby, NFL and boxing, the report goes on to say:
We have also put more emphasis on using the stadium to its full potential, through our Conferences and Events service and
restaurants, as well as off-game tourist attractions like our
Stadium tours and The Dare Skywalk.
ENFIELD PROPERTY COMPANY LIMITED (06279811)
Perhaps the company’s argument that these increased revenue streams will all trickle down to the football field and be seen as an increased investment in the quality of our on-field play impresses you? That’s what they tell us. Just as they tell us on page 5 of the strategic report:
The fans are the lifeblood of our club and are always at the forefront of our
decision making. We are proud to have an ever-growing number of
Fan clubs around the world. The Board meets regularly with the
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust and other fan groups, to discuss
the main issues affecting fans.
It’s OK then. So what to worry about. The accounts look good, the
revenue is flowing in and what if the direct football business only accounted for 16% of revenue?
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FOOTBALL CO LIMITED (06279984)
It’s all about that word context again and depending on where you are
things can seem like glass half empty or glass half full. Take our quick pint pour mechanism. Fans think, “Fantastic! I don’t have to wait in line for hours to get a beer.
But the owners and the board are probably thinking, “Fantastic! We can
sell a lot more beer at halftime and make sure that as many fans as possible have time to spend money on food as well.” The way we look at our football club is one thing, the way the owners see their return on investment is something completely different.
PAXTON17 LTD (00180950)
Now let’s take the next logical step. How would potential new owners
see what Tottenham Hotspur Limited means to them? Let’s take an example, so we can coax the rat here and lure it to the middle of the room, so everyone can see where the smell is coming from. The next owner will certainly be American because the opportunity to buy an NFL franchise is not something that comes along regularly. This NFL franchise is worth millions of dollars.
STARDARE LIMITED (02208606)
Let’s pick a very wealthy American and then see why Tottenham Hotspur looks like a fabulous acquisition and a chance to make millions. Mark Zuckerberg immediately comes to mind. Worth $84.8 billion and seeking to develop alternate reality technologies for its Meta evolution. Wait, you say, take a step back, Zuckerberg isn’t exactly known for his love of American sports and probably doesn’t even know what “soccer” is.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FOOTBALL & ATHLETIC CO. LTD (00057186)
This is where our club went, and it should now start to become apparent
that our club has really gone under ENIC. It absolutely doesn’t matter
whether it’s the fact that Zuckerberg isn’t a sports fan when he watches
accounts at Companies House. It will look at a growing global market
audience with an established media output and the ability to bring it all back in-house to its virtual asylum. It will seek to host concerts, boxing, conferences, NFL games, media events and anything else an operation like Tottenham Hotspur Limited can provide within its operating platform.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR LIMITED (01706358)
This is the reality of what ENIC has done. They have built a very salable media asset that has very little to do with our club. There is no importance or need for a prospective buyer to know anything about football, and when ENIC’s stated goal is to make money in a day, that’s a scary scenario.
If you want a terrifying situation, consider that the next buyer is a hedge fund that can see the value of 18 companies individually and seek to sell them. Don’t lose sleep over this idea, because we are
protected by the appropriate league owner test!
We talked here about not buying commodities to get leverage
but accounts show us that hospitality revenue generates more money than selling shirts, mugs and hoodies to fans. We have no significant leverage.
Our main activity may be supporting our club, but that club is gone. As ‘H’ would say, “This ship has sailed.”. Maybe we just have to accept the idea that we are just passengers. We do not control the vehicle and we do not even know the road this vehicle is heading on or the destination it will end up at.
Companies House Tottenham Hotspur Account References