Fulham have confirmed that they have agreed to sell Craven Cottage to a finance and development company, prompting fears that the club will not return to its’ home in west London.

The club confirmed that Fulham River Projects Limited agreed to buy the ground from Fulham Stadium Limited.

A spokesman for the club said: “Fulham River Projects Limited is a finance and development company which was set up by our solicitors to develop Craven Cottage. It is already public knowledge that Fulham may be forced to develop a stadium away from the Craven Cottage site and this is part of that potential precautionary future strategy.”

The proposed sale of Craven Cottage highlights the concerns of supporters’ groups who are fearful that Fulham will quit their long-term home at Craven Cottage. Last May the club struck a deal to groundshare with QPR at Loftus Road for two seasons, before returning to a new 28,000 all-seater Craven Cottage.

However, the club have subsequently admitted that they may not be able to proceed with the 28,000-seat redevelopment because the cost was prohibitive.

“If the proposed Craven Cottage were now to be built according to the original plans the cost would exceed œ100m,” said a spokesman.

“To saddle the club with this magnitude of debt would be foolhardy.”

Requests to extend the capacity of the ground to 38,000 are almost certain to be rejected by Hammersmith and Fulham Council, leaving the club in limbo.