Baggies up for sale in shock move

West Bromwich Albion was today put up for sale by chairman Jeremy Peace.

The Baggies majority shareholder is seeking "major new investment" to help turn the club, worth at least £30 million, into a Premier League force.

And Mr Peace made it known privately he will sell his controlling stake if the right buyer comes forward for the club, which was described by a football finance expert today as potentially the biggest in the Midlands.

The chairman said he was no longer able to provide the investment needed to make Albion an established Premier League club.

Mr Peace said: "We have always tried to organise the club's finances on a sensible and prudent basis and we will continue to do so.

"However, the reality is that to be successful in the Premiership a club of our size needs significantly more financial backing.

"We are now attractively placed to benefit from new investment and will listen to any substantive and sensible proposals which are in the best long-term interests of the club."

Financial experts today put the likely value of the club at around £30m but that could rise in coming seasons after the club clinched promotion back to the Premier League last month.

The club is hopeful that the return of top-flight football to The Hawthorns after two years in the Championship will encourage businessmen to invest or possibly buy Peace's stake, which is just over 50 per cent of the club's total shares.

The news follows a string of high-profile buy-outs of Premier League clubs, often from wealthy foreign businessmen.

West Bromwich-born Mr Peace, aged 51, took over as chairman from Paul Thompson in 2002 after an acrimonious battle for power involving former team manager Gary Megson.

The City financier had joined the board two years earlier having been a lifelong Baggies supporter.

Last year he bought more shares to take his stake past 50 per cent. His share in the club is now estimated to be worth at least £15m.

Albion was today described as one of the "best investments" in football by a finance expert, who said it had the potential to overtake Aston Villa as the region's biggest club.

Professor Tom Cannon, an expert in football finance, said: "I was once asked to recommend which club to buy in the English Premiership and I said Everton, Sunderland or West Bromwich Albion.

"Albion have got the kind of long term rock solid support and I think the club is one of the best investments."

He said Aston Villa were "not as dominant" in the Midlands as Manchester United are in the North West and Albion could compete with it for supporters and finances.