Tottenham Hotspur to go private

Tottenham Hotspur, one of the country's best-known soccer clubs, is to go private, saying the cost of a stock market listing would be better spent helping expand its stadium.

The club, known as Spurs, also said Wednesday it swung to a £402,000 full-year pretax profit, helped by its run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Chairman Daniel Levy said "increasing the capacity of the club's stadium is a key factor in the continued development and success of the club and will involve the company in considerable additional capital expenditure."

"The AIM listing restricts our ability to secure funding."

Tottenham, which plays in England's top-flight Premier League, has consistently sought to expand its stadium to keep up with domestic rivals with far bigger grounds.

Tottenham shares closed at 46 pence on November 15, giving the club -- known as "Spurs" -- a market capitalisation of around £100 million.

The club, whose players include Wales international Gareth Bale, said the last day of dealing in its shares would likely be January 13, with the delisting to take effect on January 16.

Tottenham said operating profit, excluding player transfers, rose 42 percent to £32.3 million in the year to June. It made a £6.5 million pretax loss in 2009/10.

Tottenham's decision to delist from AIM follows a similar move earlier this month by lower league London club Millwall to take its shares off the AIM market.