Aberdeen football pitches are among a package of investment assets up for sale for £3.65 million.
CBRE Investment Management (CBREIM) has instructed London-based Kimmeridge Real Estate (Kimmre) to market a total of four five-a-side venues operated by Northwind 5s, trading as Goals.
One of these is Goals’ site in Bridge of Dee, Aberdeen.
According to Goals’ website, it offers “the best small-sided football facilities in the city”.
The three other all-weather venues up for sale are in Bradford, Leicester and Wimbledon, in south-west London.
Goals does not own the sites but operates them under long-term leases. They are owned by CBREIM for investment purposes.
‘Important social infrastucture’
Kimmre partner Rory Turner said the venues were considered to be “important social infrastructure for local communities”.
“The investment presents a rare opportunity to invest in high yielding, long income,” he said, adding: “CBREIM are selling as they are looking to re-cycle equity into other opportunities.”
Kimmre’s big selling points for all four sites include:
- All assets benefit from large residential conurbations.. and are considered the primary small format football pitches within their respective areas
- They are either adjacent to or a short walk from large educational facilities with a direct requirement for sports activities
- A total passing rent of £477,730 a year per site
- Five-yearly index linked rent reviews
One venue, nine pitches
The Aberdeen site, on Great Southern Road, has a rental value of £43,000 a year. In 2002 it turned over £484,000.
Goals’ Granite City venue has eight five-a-side football pitches and one seven-a-side pitch. It also boasts a licensed bar, cafe, changing facilities and more than 80 car parking spaces.
The three-acre site is let to Northwind 5s/Goals for a term of 124 years, expiring on February 28 2135.
Goals is the UK’s largest and most popular five-a-side football operator in the UK, with more than 400 pitches across 43 locations.
Its mission statment says: “We want to encourage as many people as possible to play the beautiful game. To this end, Goals are at the cutting edge of five-a-side football.
“We are the world’s largest and most popular operator of dedicated, five-a-side clubs.”
Its venues were previously operated by London-listed Goals Soccer Centres, which invested more than £9 million in the sites before hitting severe financial problems in 2019.
Rival SoccerWorld eventually teamed up with Inflexion Private Equity to acquire East Kilbride-based Goals Soccer Centres, which was part-owned by flambuoyant businessman Mike Ashley, through investment vehicle Northwind 5s.
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