Ahh Dubai, we are going to have to disagree again my old friend!!
Absolutely fine by me, mate.
The thing is, because ENIC own Spurs, it is their own money. If they wanted to make a quick buck, they could just have done what the Glazers did. Or alternatively, they could just have distributed the profit that we have made over the years to themselves in cold hard cash. Why use the cash that the club has generated and tie it up into a large infrastructure project that is more than likely to go over budget, if they are in for the short term.
I didn't say they were in for the 'short term', or wanted to make a quick buck, per se - I don't think anyone can really say that after sixteen years of waiting for them to triumphantly swan off (your own experiences may vary
) and finding them instead grimly sticking on, year after year.
I do think, however, that they are coming up to the point where selling becomes an attractive option. You're certainly right in noting that they haven't taken money *out* of the club as many more ghoulish owners have at clubs across the land, and that speaks well of their fairly long-term planning - but, despite that, their exposure to risk in terms of pursuing grand projects at the club is almost zero, because the purchase price they paid to buy us (50-75m quid in total, I believe) would be dwarfed by the profits they would make if they cashed out at any point whatsoever - even if we were struggling with an unfinished stadium as a deadweight around our necks, the sheer financial power of the Premier League will ensure that anyone who tries to buy us from ENIC will end up paying a much larger price than the one they paid to buy us in the first place. Thus, there is no risk involved in owning us - the only question is the maximisation of the profit they can expect upon selling us on, and that price point is (I think) approaching now as the stadium nears completion, our global profile grows and the NFL prepares to shack up at our new place for ten-odd years.
We do not know what their exit strategy is, if indeed there is one. What I think we can quickly discount, is that Levy/Lewis/ENIC are in this for the short term. They are undertaking one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country, that is fraught with more downside risk than upside. Why do I come to that conclusion? Because large projects like these overrun, and they needn't have decided to add all the bells and whistles that they are planning on.
Again, I don't think there is that much of a risk to them personally, because the club exists as an entity that requires no personal or financial input from them, and guarantees them a profit regardless of the state it's in when they eventually do sell it. That's just the reality given the price they paid and what we're worth now. If you measure risk in terms of the scale of lost profits, then perhaps you might be on to something, but more often than not the conventional understanding of the risk involved in holding an asset is based on the idea that it might cause you losses if you mishandle it - ENIC will suffer no losses from owning us, only (potentially) a smaller profit if the stadium project turns out badly. So why not go for broke, given that the place is being built with our own money anyway?
They have been here for the best part of 15+ years, and I think they will be here for a lot longer yet until this EPL behemoth has stopped growing. That would be the time to sell, and there are no signs on showing that this is going to come anytime soon. Given the time they have spent with us, I am more inclined to believe that they will leave when they have achieved what they set out to achieve and that is to make this club the best club in the country both on and off the pitch. We are the closest we have been to that in a long long time, but still a million miles away. That's my tuppence anyway!
Sure - that's a reasonable opinion to have, and we're both basically speculating on when the club's value will peak - not about ENIC in particular. We're just assuming that ENIC will sell when we hit our peak in terms of value - you think that is some way away, I think it's about to arrive as the stadium is completed and the NFL rolls up to host their one-game-a-year. The essential principle - which is that ENIC will sell when our maximum value is reached - is, I hope, something we both agree on.