In July 2009, Gardner and business partner Keith Todd secured ownership of 13 percent of Championship team Plymouth Argyle as part of a consortium of international and local businesses which took over the club. He stated that it was the consortium's ambition to see Argyle promoted to the English Premier League within five years and focused on the club’s bid to host the World Cup finals in 2018. Gardner also stated that he wished to "develop a better understanding of the club's precise needs, plan to progressively increase the budget for new players, in particular as we grow the commercial income of the club".