Venables tapped his pubs

Terry Venables, the chief executive of Tottenham Hotspur, owes a six-figure sum, via his private company Edennote, to the collapsed finance company Landhurst Leasing.

In a highly unusual deal, the cash was borrowed against the security of fixtures and fittings in pubs controlled by Mr Venables, writes Nick Gilbert.

The money, which is put at anything from pounds 100,000 to pounds 500,000, appears to have helped Mr Venables raise the pounds 3m he used to buy his 22 per cent stake in Spurs, the quoted football club.

Edennote was the vehicle used by Mr Venables to buy the Spurs shares. In a separate financing deal, his private company borrowed pounds 2m from Norfina, and the Venables stake in Spurs is pledged against the debt. Mr Venables also put up pounds 750,000 'from his own resources'.

Mr Venables' deal over pub assets was one of many bizarre leasing transactions arranged by Landhurst's boss Ted Ball, who lent on anything from Ferraris and Lamborghinis to dental equipment and expensive sporting guns. Landhurst clients included Tony Berry, also a Spurs director, the boxing promoter Frank Warren and Phillip Green, formerly of Amber Day.

The original leasing deal was between Landhurst and another Venables company, Transatlantic Inns, which ceased trading over a year ago. Mr Venables' off-the-field business ventures have not been as successful as the Spurs team, which he has guided to the semi-final of the FA Cup.

(Photograph omitted)