Tavistock Group - not just Joe Lewis

[RogerTCB]

Inspired by a post in the Daily ITK thread I took a look at the Tavistock Group website.
First the serious point. This is a serious organisation which has not got Spurs in it's portfolio as a play thing of a single rich person. Joe Lewis is not the sole investor, it is his Tavistock Group which has it in the portfolio. By definition their stance that every investment they make should provide big returns will be an expectation here too. In other words, they know the only way to make money is from winning things. The only way to win is additional cash and that is how they operate; adding cash - and if necessary expertise - to transform an investment into a highly profitable one. Looks like they think the time to 'invest big' is now. Also, as was noted in the ITK discussion thread, Bale features heavily in the marketing material (not that it means too much in my book but make of that what you will).

On a lighter note, the page for the Spurs investment made me giggle: "
Tottenham Hotspur
To dare is to do.

One of the oldest clubs in the English Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur has won its share of glory since the club was formed in London's Park Lane in 1882. History-making accomplishments over the last six decades combined with a fan base of 20 million worldwide, a growing roster of international stars, and a significant television presence have made Tottenham Hotspur a global force on soccer’s international stage."

It then invites you to click the link to www.spurs.co.uk where the curious international money men are greeted by:

 

[Ironskullll]

I think we undersell the club and its history whenever we talk of "the last six decades", or suggest that the club was "built" by Billy Nick, as others sometimes do. The history is far richer than that would suggest. The origins of the club whereby a 14 year old was their first captain and led them to FA Cup glory as a club official less than 20 years later. The pioneering of football in the south; the early successes which were basically the inspiration for the subsequent owners of Arsenal and the founders of Chelsea; the magnificent Archibald Leitch stand; the purist footballing tradition dating back to the 19th century and which is well documented from contemporary sources. The phenomenal following the club has always had - winning the 2nd div in 1950 with the country's highest average gate across all divisions. And as if that wasn't enough, you can draw comparisons galore with the shabby behaviour of the AFC and CFC clubs throughout their histories. People don't just choose Spurs as their club because it's convenient or because they like the colour of the shirt, they choose it because it has one of the very richest histories of any club in the world, and we really don;t make enough of that history.

 

[MR_BEN]

Good to see they like me - refuse to use the tottenhamhotspur.com domain name - and stick to the good old spurs.co.uk