GAVYN Davies, the millionaire economist, who was once linked to buy-out talk over Southampton Football Club, could easily net more than £68.2m if he wanted.

Five years ago the Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs floated - and the former chief UK economist was among 230 partners who were given shares.

But they were locked into an agreement that prevented them from selling up until this month.

Now the golden handcuffs are off and Mr Davies is free to offload, subject to restrictions put in place to stop the value of Goldman Sachs being hit by a sudden dumping of stock.

According to reports, Mr Davies' stake is worth $125m - or just over £68.2m.

Mr Davies, who was until recently the BBC chairman and has close links with the Labour Party, was brought up in Southampton and never lost his affection for the city's soccer club.

The father of three once said he dreamed of owning Saints, and his name was repeatedly linked to the Premiership side in the mid-to-late 1990s.

But a reverse take-over in 1997, with chairman Rupert Lowe at the helm, shattered that hope.