SR Education's New Venture - 23 Nov 2010

We are delighted to announce that SR Education has won the race to take over the assets of Ilkeston Town FC, the Blue Square North club that went into liquidation in September because of their failure to pay a £50,000 bill to HMRC.

Four organisations lodged bids to purchase the lease on the New Manor Ground, existing plant and equipment, and other assets, and after full consultation with Erewash Borough Council, Liquidator Dean Nelson decided that SR Education was best placed to build a "New Ilkeston".

Head of Operations Dave Mantle explained: "We were already very well acquainted with the Ilkeston set-up through operating their Academy, which currently has 28 apprentices coming through the scheme.

"The more we thought about the situation, the more it made sense to try and re-launch Ilkeston and we believe we have created a business model that will not only give the club security but also offer hard-pressed supporters a reasonable chance to witness some success."

Although the head office of SR Education will continue to be based on the outskirts of Nottingham, other sections of the business will be re-located to The New Manor Ground - and that will enable the football club to benefit through investment of up to £200,000 per year.

Added Dave: "With the work we have done through the apprenticeship scheme, close links have already been formed with the local community and we believe this development offers us a fantastic opportunity to build on that."