Wilde, 53, has bought up another 500,000 shares in parent company Southampton Leisure Holdings plc.

That equates to 13% and is enough to call an extraordinary general meeting at which shareholders could vote to remove Lowe from his position.

However, Wilde has yet to declare his intentions regarding the chairman.

Lowe has been under pressure from Saints fans following the club's relegation last season and the subsequent player exodus.

The fans were unhappy at the manner of previous manager Harry Redknapp's departure back to arch-rivals Portsmouth, while the �12m sale of teenage sensation Theo Walcott to Arsenal in January proved the final straw for many.

Anti-Lowe protests have started up during and after recent matches with Southampton in the bottom half of the Championship.

Wilde, a life-long Saints supporter, now owns 3,062,470 shares.