St Giles Road sports ground to be sold

The freehold of the seven acre sports ground in Hove Edge, Brighouse, occupied by Brighouse Town FC, is to be offered for sale by the liquidators of Blakeborough Sports and Social Club.

Joint property agents Walker Singleton and Eddisons are marketing the site which is subject to a 25 year lease to Brighouse Town FC, dating from 2001. The ground is located off St Giles Road which connects Hove Edge to Lightcliffe and is adjacent to both Crow Nest Park Golf Club and the recent residential development of Harley Head.

Blakeborough Sport and Social Club entered liquidation in 2015 with the liquidators, Begbies Traynor, seeking to realise the club’s assets on behalf of the creditors. Having sold the freehold properties of Albion Bowling Club and the social club on Bradford Road, Brighouse, the sports ground is the final asset to be realised.

The liquidators, through their agents, have had open dialogue with senior personnel at the football club throughout the period of their appointment and the club is aware of the necessity for open and transparent marketing.

The football club split away from the sports and social club in the late 1980s when the parent engineering company ceased to trade; since then the club has run as a totally independent entity, taking a long‐term lease on the sports ground.

Ryan Barker, commercial property partner at Walker Singleton, who has handled all the property sales for the liquidators, commented: “Sports grounds are rare sites to come to market. The St Giles Road property offers investors the opportunity to acquire the freehold interest in a site that currently has an attentive and ambitious football club as its tenant, alongside any longer‐term prospects that might develop.”

He added: “With investors continuing to see property as a valuable and appreciating asset, I anticipate strong competing interest.”

Charles Tolley, chairman of Brighouse Town FC, commented: “The football club has, within the limits of its resources and funding, invested heavily in the sports ground to align with its ambition and we see our medium to longer‐term vision at this ground.

“We are keen for the liquidators to dispose of their interest and end the uncertainty we have had for over 10 years. Ideally, this will be to someone who shares the club’s vision, thereby enabling us to have greater dialogue with the FA on the inward investment needed to move the club forward. The Club invites any investors to come forward who share the same ambition and who might wish to partner with us.”