Sky Blues agree deal to buy Brandon speedway site

[dutchman]

Coventry City FC have secured a provisional deal to buy the Brandon speedway site to build a new stadium.



The site has been sold to the Sky Blues subject to contract.

The club has also become the preferred buyer for a second mystery site just outside the Coventry boundary – which could become their chosen stadium site.

A formal announcement confirming the Sky Blues have entered exclusive negotiations on the unnamed site is expected tomorrow from Birmingham-based property consultants CBRE.

More news is also anticipated next week of the controversial sale of the 26-acre Brandon Stadium site – home of the Coventry Bees and a venue for greyhound racing.

Bees owner Mick Horton has stated he recently signed a four-year deal to use Brandon for speedway .

Others claim there would be major problems with road infrastructure to support a football stadium around the site in Rugby Road, Brandon.

Any potential sale of Brandon stadium by owner Avtar Sandhu might also be affected by a legal wrangle with HM Revenue and Customs.

Andrew Moss, of Birmingham-based GVA property agents, refused to confirm the provisional sale agreed was with Coventry City.

But he told the Telegraph: “A sale has now been agreed subject to legals with a single party.

“The vendor has accepted a bid subject to contract, and the site is under offer to a party.”

He said a heads of terms agreement was being finalised, and the sale could be completed by the end of September.

The club has also entered exclusive “due diligence” talks with the owner of the second site – as it wants to keep its options open.

The Telegraph understands Sky Blues directors and owners Sisu/Otium intend to give fans a say in a consultation exercise about the new stadium.

Many fans, and anti-Sisu Coventry MP Bob Ainsworth, have questioned whether the club have any genuine intention of building a new stadium , accusing them of playing hard-ball to obtain control of the part-council-owned Ricoh Arena.

Those allegations are denied by the club.

It comes a day after we revealed the club’s owners Sisu/Otium had agreed to last-ditch talks with Arena Coventry Limited over staying at the Ricoh Arena , rather than playing ‘home’ matches at Northampton Town until the new stadium is built.

While any potential agreement for a return to the Ricoh a long way off, CBRE is expected to release further details confirming movement of the unnamed site, and the appointment of a team of architects, highway consultants and planning consultants.

However, any sale of the Brandon site could also face problems.

HMRC said in November that the Brandon Stadium was a frozen asset and could not be sold following the conviction for money laundering by gambler Jatinder Singh Batth – also known as Micky Singh – who it claims owns half of the £1million venue.

However, Avtar Sandhu insists he is the legal and rightful owner.

Brandon’s sellers expect the HMRC issues to be resolved during a two-month “due diligence” period.

The club would hope to secure planning permission from the relevant district council in Warwickshire for the eventual site it would pick. The government could also have the final say if secretary of state Eric Pickles calls in the application, or calls a public inquiry.

The second site remains a mystery, although many fans have speculated over the former Peugeot factory site at the A45 Ryton, which is close to the Sky Blues training ground.

But Chris Hall, director of Trenport Investments, said yesterday there had been no approach by the club.

Neither has there been any club approach for Ansty Park, said Steve Holland, of the Homes and Communities Agency – the former Advantage West Midlands site which has long been earmarked for up to 10,000 advanced manufacturing jobs.