(Credit: Imago)
(Credit: Imago)

Tottenham owners will ‘put their hands in their pockets’ to cover ‘huge’ relegation losses

James Murray

James holds a degree in Sports Journalism and Communications (MA) from the Real Madrid Graduate School. He has experience working for a number of local news outlets as well as the Sunday Mirror and Real Madrid TV. James is from Scunthorpe and has an affinity with Scunthorpe United, but is also a huge West Ham supporter and an expert on all things to do with the Hammers. He started working for Breaking Media in July 2023, initially writing on the Club Sites, where he specialised in West Ham content, before moving to Football Insider – where he is now an expert in football finance, speaking regularly with Stefan Borson and Keith Wyness to generate high-quality content in all things related to finance in the Premier League, Football League, and Scottish Premiership.

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Tottenham Hotspur’s owners will have to “put their hands in their pockets” to mitigate the “huge” drop in revenue if the club are relegated this season. 

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider Spurs’ turnover could fall by £200-300million if they lose their Premier League status. 

Tottenham have mutually agreed to part ways with Igor Tudor after just 44 days and seven matches in charge of the club. 

The north London giants currently sit 17th in the Premier League table, just one point above third-bottom West Ham heading into the final seven games of the campaign. 

Relegation would come as a significant blow to Tottenham’s financial situation after increasing their revenue substantially in recent years. 

How £850m debt will impact Tottenham after relegation

Tottenham’s owners have faced criticism from the fans following their handling of matters this season. 

ENIC, which is majority owned by the Lewis family, holds an 86.91 per cent stake at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Financial metricValue
Commercial revenue£277m
Broadcast revenue£162m
Matchday revenue£126m
Total revenue£565m
Tottenham’s revenue last season (Credit: Deloitte’s 2026 Money League)

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed what relegation would mean for Tottenham’s £850m worth of financial debt. 

“I don't think the debt itself is going to be the end of the world,” said Borson. 

“It's a very well packaged facility in that large chunks of it are long term, low interest rates. If they have covenants, the covenants are manageable. Even if they breach those covenants, it’s still manageable. Nobody's going to ask them to repay the money anyway, so the debt side of things is under control. 

“Now, that's not to say they don't have some issues with cash. They will have. There will be less cash in the business and they will have to raise money from the shareholders. 

“The shareholders will have to put their hand in their pocket to fund the club over this period. I don't think there's any question there. But I assume they're in a position to be able to do that, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.” 

Why revenue dip is Tottenham's 'biggest issue'

Borson revealed the impact on Tottenham’s revenue is concerning if they are relegated this season. 

“The bigger issue is just a huge loss of revenue,” said Borson. 

“It’s £200-300m, depending on really two main things. We can model out broadcast revenue fairly precisely. Parachute payment plus EFL money is about £55m, going from what it is this season of about £200m if they were to be relegated. They'd lose £145-150m there. 

Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham
Tottenham's revenue is expected to drop significantly in the Championship (Credit: Imago)

“Commercial is a bit more difficult to model out, but you would think they're going to lose £50-100m. It depends whether the relegation release clauses from some of the contracts, and it depends how much of say the £290m that they've probably got this season was related to Champions League. 

“When we get their accounts, we'll have a bit more information, but not a lot. But you’ve got £50-100m there.” 

Deloitte’s 2026 Money League revealed Tottenham’s commercial revenue reached £277m last season, helping them record an overall turnover of £565m.

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