US investment group reveals interest in Tottenham

An investment group from the United States has said it is considering making a cash offer for Tottenham Hotspur, prompting the club to deny it was in takeover talks with the firm or any other party.

Cain Hoy, a US private investment firm that publicly launched on Thursday and is backed by Guggenheim Partners, said in a statement that it was in the "preliminary stages" of assessing a cash offer for Spurs.

Senior club insiders do not believe there is any likelihood of a bid being launched before plans to redevelop White Hart Lane have progressed. The club released a statement confirming it was not in takeover discussions with Cain Hoy “or any other party”.

“THFC has been in discussions with multiple providers of finance so that the optimum financing package for the project can be achieved and, in the course of those considerations, has met representatives of Cain Hoy,” it said. “However, there are no ongoing discussions with Cain Hoy. The club is focused on the new stadium development and the season ahead.”

Tottenham owner Joe Lewis is said to value the club at close to £1bn (€1.25bn), but without a new stadium – or significant progress towards one – it is unlikely that any prospective new owner would pay anywhere near that sum. Rumours have swirled for some time about whether and when Lewis might be prepared to sell, against the backdrop of the chairman, Daniel Levy, attempting to maintain competitiveness on the pitch and progress the new stadium off it.

At the time when Spurs were battling West Ham for the Olympic Stadium, there was speculation that Lewis was preparing an exit.

Cain Hoy is led in Europe by Jonathan Goldstein, a real estate lawyer who was the chief executive of Olswang. A Spurs fan, he worked at Guggenheim Partners before leaving along with Todd Boehly and Henry Silverman to launch the new fund with minority investment from their former employer.

In the press release announcing the launch of Cain Hoy it announced its intention to invest in real estate and “consumer interests such as entertainment, media and retail”.

Goldstein said: “Cain Hoy is permanently financed and we are patient investors. This gives us greater flexibility to pursue significant opportunities that need to mature and to develop over time.”

Spurs announced earlier this week that the project to build a 56,000 seat stadium on the site of White Hart Lane had been further delayed owing to a high court challenge from a sheet metal firm fighting a compulsory purchase order.They will have to spend a full season in a temporary home and will not move to their new stadium until 2018-19 at the earliest. Milton Keynes is the most likely destination, groundsharing with MK Dons, along with the possible addition of the Olympic Stadium or Wembley for European games.

With the advent of Uefa's financial fair play rules and the revenue opportunities afforded by the Premier League's popularity around the world, English clubs have become a focus of US interest. Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Sunderland are among the top flight clubs in American hands

Guardian Service