ENIC, the leisure group which owns a 25% stake in Glasgow Rangers and a string of leading foreign clubs, has emerged as the potential bidder. ENIC is owned by Joe Lewis, the Bahamas based billionaire who is one of Britain's richest men.

A bid for Wembley could scupper plans to tear down the 75 year old stadium and demolish its world renowned twin towers.

ENIC already has a string of football interests

Other bidders may emerge. Car parks multi-millionaire Stephen Tucker is rumoured to be preparing a financial consortium to mount an offer.

Arsenal, the current Premier League champions, have also shown an interest in moving to Wembley in the past. They are desperate to increase their crowd capacity and may have renewed their approach to the company.

Eleventh hour approach

The approach comes as Wembley prepares to sell the historic sporting cathedral for �103m to the English National Stadium Trust - which is backed by the Football Association and the English Sports Council.

The trust plans to give Wembley a �320m facelift. The new stadium could also form the centrepiece of England's bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

The sale of the stadium has caused boardroom ructions. Wembley's executives are thought to be split over the sale of the stadium, and the deal has been delayed.

Foul play in the boardroom

ENIC tabled the bid after three dissatisfied non-executive directors of Wembley contacted the leisure group.

ENIC's board rejected the deal, but the three dissenting directors have pledged to put the offer to shareholders.

Hoping to score with investors

ENIC said its offer was worth 412p for each Wembley share. It has pledged to pay 200p worth of cash and the balance in its own shares.

In a formal announcement to the London Stock Exchange, Wembley announced that it was in preliminary talks with a possible bidder which "may or may not" lead to an offer being made.

Shares in Wembley soared 55p, or 18%, to 367.5p on the stock market when the possibility of a bid first emerged on Thursday, valuing the total group at just over �200m. However the shares slipped 16p to 351.5p on Friday as doubts about a deal emerged.