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Spurs chairman Levy used club’s shares to get £40m loan
06.08.09
Shares in Tottenham Hotspur were used as collateral for a loan by the football club's chairman Daniel Levy and Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis, according to the loan book of collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing.
The document, which has been leaked to whistleblower website WikiLeaks, says Levy and Lewis borrowed $68.2 million (£40.1 million) from Kaupthing through Enic, their investment vehicle, when they raised their stake in the club to 84% two years ago.
The loan was part of a €121.9 million (£103.4 million) facility through Enic and was a “reverse repo” arrangement, where a lender agrees to buy a security and sell it back to the customer at a higher price on a specific date.
Kaupthing kept shares with a value of around €89 million as collateral.
The bank has stamped the security with a “good” subjective rating, although the document flags up a perceived risk.
“Our only formal security is one line of shares which would have to be placed with someone desirous of owning the club as they are not a traditional investment,” it reads.
Reader views (2)
So Icelanders and others entrusted their money to Kaupthing and some crook at Kaupthing handed it over to a couple of north London sleazebags? This story needs more investigation not less.
- Henry Gilbert, Hendon, UK
so what?
apart from serious muckracking i really dont know why this has come out now, its not affecting tottenham so who bloody cares?
- Tony Elsden, edmonton , london
