A Football finance expert has now shed light on why ENIC decided to inject £100m into Tottenham, and Spurs fans may not like his conclusion.
Since Daniel Levy’s exit, Tottenham’s owners have repeatedly reiterated that they want to usher in a new era of on-pitch success.
On Thursday morning, we finally saw them prove that by their actions, with Spurs confirming that their majority owners had injected equity of £100m into the club.
On social media, Tottenham fans are already dreaming of using that money to sign the likes of Antoine Semenyo, but they may have to manage some of their expectations following the latest reveal.
The real reason ENIC injected £100m into Tottenham
We previously relayed a report from Ben Jacobs, who said that the £100m cash injection is primarily aimed at improving Tottenham’s balance sheet, and is not intended mainly for transfers.
This has now been confirmed by football finance expert Adam Williams, who pointed out that Tottenham’s transfer debut is among the highest in the Premier League.
He explained that the Lilywhites thus desperately needed the equity to improve their accounts.
Williams told TBR Football: “There was £35 million worth of capital injected via this method in January, which followed another £114 million in 2022. Those are the only two other equity injections in the 25 years that ENIC have owned the club.
“That’s because they have typically spent within their means, but football’s arms race in the transfer and wage markets means they have had to ramp up spending to compete. They went big again in the summer. And yes, they have Champions League revenue to cash in this season, but they have also got huge transfer debt, which they need to cover too.
“It was £337m in their last set of accounts, which was the second-highest in the league. In the last few weeks, we’ve also seen them take out a £90m loan from Macquarie, which is secured against future TV revenue.
“That was a short-term deal, which I think proves that they didn’t have the cash flow to pay transfer instalments, wages and other overheads from their own revenue. So I suspect that this £100 million is more about shoring up the balance sheet than it is about paying for new transfers.”
Why the £100m will boost Thomas Frank’s transfer budget
It is a little misleading to discuss what portion of the £100m will go towards fixing the balance sheet and what portion will go towards transfers.
The reality is that strengthening the club’s balance sheet and reducing the club’s transfer debt obviously means that they can afford to spend more on transfers and wages.
Additionally, sources close to the Lewis family have said that more investment could soon follow, which will excite Tottenham fans.