Richard Caring, the textile tycoon and close friend of Philip Green, has had his £110 million offer for Wentworth Golf Club accepted by Chelsfield, which owns 60 per cent of the course.
Caring is poised to sign an exclusivity agreement that says that any rival bidder will have to pay over £120m to beat his offer.
Other shareholders who have pre-emption rights over any deal will meet tomorrow to decide their next move. They include Quinlan Private, which owns the Savoy Group, and businessmen Sean Quinn, Surinder Arora and Eddy Shah.
Chelsfield, which was taken private earlier this year, controversially agreed to sell the club to Caring earlier this month for £100m, but Wentworth's minority shareholders protested that higher offers were available. Sean Quinn had offered £102m soon after the agreement with Caring was signed at £100m.
