Former footballer Flitcroft in eco building venture

FORMER football star Garry Flitcroft is hoping to build a new career in the property sector.

Fltcroft, 41, who was captain at both Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City and has 10 Under 21 England caps, has acquired a 20,000 sq ft factory on an eight-acre site near Garstang Lancashire.

An experienced investor and developer since his early days in football, he has launched a business called Flitcraft EcoBuild, which supplies eco-friendly timber housing frames.

The company designs and makes self-build kit houses, using a timber frame system comprising injected structural insulated panels (SIPS).

Unlike traditional building methods, Flitcraft’s timber frame structures are precision engineered under factory conditions and then delivered directly to the site, where they are installed by cranes. The timber frame houses are faster to build and more cost effective.

Garry Flitcroft said: “My dad was a builder so when I was 18 I bought four or five properties with my first signing on fee at Man City and things have snowballed from there.
“I’ve built up a large property portfolio over the last 25 years, consisting of residential and commercial property built in the traditional way. But this is completely different to anything I’ve done previously and I’m very excited about it.”

He bought the business, which has 25 staff,  two months ago and has rebranded it as Flitcraft.

He believes timber frames can revolutionise the traditional way houses are built: “I’ve got a site in Edgworth near Bolton where I’m currently building seven four and five bedroom detached houses. I had three houses built with internal walls and fully watertight within 16 days, which gives you an idea of the turnaround time.”

He adds: “We’ve got a state-of-the-art factory that is capable of doing £20m turnover per year. I firmly believe we are more than capable of hitting those targets.”