Portsmouth's prospects of solving their financial problems could be hit by planning delays to their proposed new stadium, which, in turn, may adversely affect a possible takeover of the club.

The Times has learnt that retail development recently added to plans for the stadium at Horsea Island is part of Portsmouth's appeal to a consortium of South African and British businessmen that is to submit an offer for the club within a fortnight. However, the commercial element will probably cause the Government to call in the plans, according to Portsmouth City Council.

Mike Makaab, of Prosports International, a South African sports management company, is one of the intermediaries fronting the bid and he confirmed yesterday that the addition of shops, a supermarket and an hotel to the original plans for the stadium have made the club a more attractive proposition. “The commercial element is a serious point of interest in the deal,” he told The Times.

The club have been forced to add the retail elements to fund an estimated cost of £100million and hope to submit updated plans to the council in the new year, but a public inquiry would push back the proposed completion date of 2011. It is unthinkable that the consortium would not make any bid conditional on planning permission being granted and while a long planning process is certain, the outcome is not.

“At the moment, the proposal is being formulated and I expect a formal offer to be made in 10 to 14 days,” Makaab said, and although he refused to name any of those making the offer, he ruled out Johann Rupert, one of South Africa's richest men, who was linked with a possible buyout of Newcastle United this year.

“None of them are football men at all - and none of them are involved in gold mining. They are businessmen who are passionate about sport and see Portsmouth as a possible business opportunity.

“What interests them about Portsmouth as opposed to any other British club is that it is the only Premier League club in that part of England. There was also a definite synergy with the existing ownership. They are mindful of the fact that Portsmouth have done very well in recent seasons and they want that to continue.”

Success on the field will be good for business and the prospective investors are in tune with Alexandre Gaydamak, the owner, over the club's potential. On the day in January 2006 when Gaydamak's arrival at Portsmouth was announced, his father, Arkady, the Russian-Israeli businessman, said that he understood that real estate was part of the deal, so plans to redevelop Fratton Park were shelved in favour of starting from scratch elsewhere. But a grandiose scheme for a stadium in the city's historic dockyards was abandoned and increasing problems in funding the present plans are believed to be behind Gaydamak's decision to listen to offers for the club.

Whoever ends up in charge, the club's present situation - with wages accounting for an estimated 90 per cent of turnover - appears unsustainable without a modern stadium to boost revenues.

“We have to have retail on the site,” Peter Storrie, the Portsmouth executive chairman, said. “Without that, it's just simply not going to happen. We need the council to get behind us and support us on this. They are not being unhelpful, but it's a change in policy for them and they need to understand fully the economic reasons why we have to have retail.”

However, the council gave warning that the matter would be out of its hands. “Ministers will be unhappy about out-of-town shopping because of the effect on city centres,” Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the council leader, said. “It will be a public inquiry and ministers will make the decision.”