BBL & WBBL winners London Lions in administration

London Lions became the first ever British champions in European competition when they won the women's EuroCup in April

London Lions basketball club has entered administration after months of speculation around funding available from owners 777 Partners.

The American investors also owned a 45% stake in the British Basketball League (BBL), which had its licence terminated due to concerns over finances in June.

The Lions have won 19 trophies across the men's and women's game since 777 bought them in 2019.

The club, which is based at the Copper Box Arena in Stratford, is now in the hands of insolvency firm Hudson Weir.

Joint administrators Hasib Howlader and Nimish Patel will now look to oversee a sale that can rescue the club and return the most amount of money possible to creditors, Mr Howlader said.

"With such a rich heritage and pedigree, this team has the support of the local community as its backbone and has a loyal fan base," he added.

"We are now seeking a serious buyer to take the London Lions on the next part of its journey, to ensure this club continues to thrive and grow. The sale will include the assets of the business and all goodwill amassed over the last 47 years.

"We are interested in talking to serious prospective buyers and whilst our focus is to sell the club to the best bidder, we are open to serious offers."

Mr Howlader said prospective buyers had been set a deadline of 12:00 BST on Friday to submit their bids.

Sam Dekker won the BBL Cup with the London Lions in 2022-23

Fears about the Lions' future had steadily grown throughout last season, when it was rumoured funding would not be allocated for the women's team to continue to compete in European competition.

This came after the women's side became the first British team ever to reach the final of a European competition.

They would go on to win a dramatic EuroCup final against Besiktas at the Copper Box in April.

Yet players and staff had already made up their minds to leave the club in order to further their careers, as they told BBC Sport in an interview the following morning.

Both the men's and women's Lions teams won the BBL championships and play-offs this season.

But in June, the British Basketball Federation (BBF) terminated the licence of Basketball League Ltd (BLL) - the company which ran the men’s BBL - with immediate effect.

The BBF said it had obtained information that said the BLL was "no longer able to carry out its functions as operator of the league".

A three-year interim licence has since been awarded to Premier Basketball Ltd, formed by a consortium of British clubs, to launch a new league.