Tottenham owner Joe Lewis puts Spurs up for sale

Tottenham owner Joe Lewis has put the club up for sale with an astonishing £1 billion price tag - five times as much as Shahid Khan paid Mohamed Al Fayed for Fulham last year.

Through his investment group, ENIC, the 77-year-old businessman paid billionaire Alan Sugar £22 million for a controlling stake in the club back in 2001. Spurs have gradually improved their position since then, but are still outsiders when it comes to the Champions League. And the £1 billion valuation of the club is double that placed on it by Forbes magazine earlier this year.

According to the Daily Mirror, Lewis has been looking to sell for some time, but without any success. Any buyer would need to take on the financial burden of the club's new stadium, believed to be as much as £400 million.

Stadium delay
While the 56,000-seater venue, planned for land next to the existing White Hart Lane stadium, would no doubt bring in new revenue, the venture has been fraught with uncertainty. Seven years in, the club has succeeded in coming to relocation agreements with more than 70 local businesses. However, just yesterday, it was revealed that the owner of the last patch of land, Archway Sheet Metal Works, is challenging the plans.

This will create a significant delay while the case awaits a High Court hearing. The stadium is now highly unlikely to be finished in time for the 2017-18 season, meaning that the team will have to play all its home matches away. The MK Dons stadium and Wembley have both been mooted as possible venues.

"We are currently undertaking due diligence on alternative stadium options. Consideration needs to be given to several factors, including planning and policing and, importantly, our fans and the impact it may have on the team itself," the club says in a statement.

"Clearly, all possible options have pros and cons and we are aware that we shall not be able to find one which will please all parties. We shall however seek to find the optimum solution for the club and our supporters and we shall be sharing our deliberations with our supporters at an appropriate time."

It may be that Lewis has to hang onto the club for a little longer: its value will rocket once the new stadium is finally completed - especially if the club does make it back into the Champions League.

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