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Senior Tottenham sources very confident about £100m off-pitch deal

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 11: Daniel Levy owner of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 11, 2024 in London, England.(Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)

Revenue has almost doubled, with matchday income now twice what it was before the move and expected to rise further, while commercial income has trebled and continues to soar.

And make no mistake, these achievements correlate with the club’s long-term prospects on the pitch in terms of investment in the playing squad.Spurs fans are sometimes frustrated with what they perceive to be a conservative approach in the transfer market.But the club’s amortisation bill (the cost of transfers in the financial accounts) has risen every non-Covid year since the move to the new stadium and was just shy of £110m at the last count.

However, there is one area that the club have failed to squeeze maximum value from the new stadium.

To explore this topic, TBR spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author Kieran Maguire.

Spurs will take confidence from big new naming rights deal in London

When Spurs moved to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019, a naming rights deal was an A1 priority.

Levy has since distanced himself from this stance, although now-former chief commercial officer insisted that it was his mission to secure a naming rights deal in his time at the club.

In a significant new development, Twickenham, home of the England rugby team, has struck a £100m, 10-year deal with German financial services company Allianz.

How will Spurs react to this new deal? Will it provide a benchmark for the value of their own rights?

“They will greet this with mixed emotions,” said Maguire.

“We now have two large stadiums in London, the Emirates and Twickenham, which have naming rights.

“Senior sources at Spurs were very confident that they would be looking at somewhere in the region of £20m per year.

“It has all gone very quiet since then. Whether there was a misalignment in terms of expectations and reality or whether negotiations collapsed because of Daniel Levy’s negotiation style is unclear.

“People are prepared to walk away from the table because there are other options.

“It is a bit like a half-life on an isotope. The longer it takes to get a deal over the line, the more the value decreases.

“But the fact that Twickenham is an established stadium and is not used very frequently for high-profile events and they managed to get £100m for it will give Spurs a degree of comfort.“

Spurs naming rights market saturated as Man United now in the hunt for deal

Spurs, West Ham and Everton have all been known to be on the lookout for a naming rights partner in recent years.

However, Man United have now become the biggest new name to also join the collection of clubs seeking to monetise their brand at their home ground.

Snapdragon, who are United’s front-of-shirt sponsor, are reportedly interested in the naming rights for Old Trafford and, potentially, the rights for a planned entirely new stadium for United.

United will be the biggest ticket in town, claims Maguire:

“If you’re a blue-chip company, you’re looking to partner with a blue-chip club.

“There is nothing more blue-chip than Man United. The level of interest in Premier League football is universal. It is the most popular sport.

“Getting your brand into the discussion is the difficult bit. Provided it is dealt with sensibly, this is a big opportunity.

“From the club’s point of view, it is free money for the likes of United and Spurs.

“There are almost zero costs involved. You may have to reconfigure a few seats to accommodate more signage or whatever, but that is relatively painless and cheap.

“You would also expect that to be factored into the price that a sponsor pays.”

1 month ago

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