Spurs Being Fattened Up For Sale - 06/10/2007

Spurs celebrated their 125th anniversary this week amid renewed suspicions that the club is being 'fattened up' ready for sale. ENIC International, the sports and entertainment group, has tightened its grip on the club, quietly purchasing most of the remaining shares after buying out Alan Sugar's 14.7 per cent holding for £25m in June. Tottenham would now be valued at around £209m which is substantially less than their North London rivals, Arsenal. Tottenham have neither a new stadium, nor much immediate prospect of Champions League football. There is a lot of activity on the stadium front and it is generally agreed that the club could not be put up for sale unless a viable plan for a new ground is drawn up. The White Hart Lane site is relatively cramped, and although capacity could be expanded, it would still be constrained by relatively poor public transport links which would be tested even more by bigger crowds.