ENIC Group

History

Previously a private investment trust, English National Investment Company was floated on the London stock exchange in 1997 as ENIC plc and became a holding company for sports, media and leisure businesses. During the football investment boom of the mid to late 1990s, it began to acquire shares in football clubs around Europe and bought stakes in Tottenham Hotspur (29.9%), Rangers (25.1%), Slavia Prague (96.7%), AEK Athens (47%), Vicenza (99.9%) and Basel (50%).

As well as football clubs, ENIC also invested in other businesses, such as software company Autonomy, retailer Warner Bros. Studio Stores, gambling website ukbetting.com and entertainment complex Church Street Station.

In 2001 ENIC bought a controlling stake in Tottenham Hotspur from Alan Sugar and Levy became chairman of the club. Later in 2001, ENIC's listing was transferred from the main stock exchange to the AIM index.

In 2003, Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy, who controlled 52% of ENIC shares, formed Kondar Ltd to buy out the remaining shareholders. A cash offer of £40m was made to take the company back into private ownership. Following the buyout, Lewis and Levy controlled 70.6% and 29.4% respectively of shares in ENIC, which was delisted from AIM and renamed ENIC Group.

In May 2006, ENIC transferred 61% stake in Slavia Prague to Czech brokerage firm Key Investments. In January 2008, Key Investment breached the contract with ENIC and increased the equity of Slavia Prague.

Following its purchase of Sugar's remaining shares in Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, ENIC continued to build up its stake, taking its shareholding to 85%. To fund this investment, it disposed of its stakes in other football clubs, as well as many of its media and entertainment businesses.

On 24 May 2022, Tottenham Hotspur announced a capital increase of up to £150 million from ENIC via the issue of shares. The announcement claimed "the equity injection provides the Premier League club with greater financial flexibility and the ability to further invest on and off the pitch."

References

References

1. (3 June 2009). "Premier League clubs boast £3.1bn of debt". [[The Guardian]].
2. "Shareholder Information". Tottenham Hotspur F.C..
3. (21 December 2000). "Sugar sells for £22m as Levy steps in". The Guardian.
4. [https://archive.today/20130628201524/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=875712 “Company Overview of ENIC plc,”] [[Bloomberg Businessweek]] (Retrieved 21 April 2013).
5. [http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-02-942_en.htm?locale=FR Press Release “Commission closes investigation into UEFA rule on multiple ownership of football clubs,”] European Commission, Référence: IP/02/942 (27 June 2002)
6. (29 March 2001). "ENIC to move down to AIM". [[Citywire]].
7. "ENIC". Tottenham Hotspur.
8. Ondřej Zlámal (spokesperson of SK Slavia Prague) published on 5. March 2008 the a press release including text "Od května 2006 jsou většinovými vlastníky fotbalové Slavie pánové Tomáš Rosen a Petr Doležal"
9. Court decision, Jiří Švihla (Insolvency practitioner of Key Investments) versus Tomáš Rosen and Petr Doležal (former clients of Key Investments), 15. August 2004, the insolvency administrator lost the case and decided not to appeal
10. Colman, Jonty. (24 May 2022). "Tottenham announce £150m capital increase with Antonio Conte set to be backed this summer". [[Daily Mirror]].
11. (24 May 2022). "Tottenham Hotspur FC Gets £150 Million Boost From Owners". Bloomberg.com.