Liverpool FC sell historic Melwood training ground with a heavy heart
Liverpool Football Club has sold its historic training ground to a property developer.
The club has sold the Melwood training ground in West Derby to Torus.
The club announced it would leave Melwood and move to a new £50m first team and academy training site in Kirby two years ago.
The club said it would leave with “a heavy heart” and the ground had played a huge role in the history of Liverpool.
Not-for-profit trust Torus has bought the site for an undisclosed fee.
The organisation has 1,600 properties in Liverpool and manages around 40,000 properties in the region.
Torus is now developing plans for the complex and is planning a consultation with the local community and businesses.
Chris Bowen, managing director of Torus Developments, said: “Consultation with local residents is very important to us and we look forward to meeting with the community in due course.
“We will also be working closely with LFC to ensure the legacy of this incredibly historical site is a theme throughout.
“Our plans are still at an early stage but will be driven by providing quality affordable homes that address local need, including specialist housing provision where older people and those with additional care needs can lead sociable, fulfilling and independent lives.”
Andy Hughes, executive vice president of operations and finance at Liverpool, said the sale is a “significant milestone” in a “hugely important and ambitious project”
He added: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sale of the Melwood site having played such a significant role in the club’s history.
“But the site is limited in terms of space and is unable to accommodate the club’s ambitions for a new first-class combined training facility.
“All funds from the sale of the Melwood site will be reinvested back into the first-team squad and the state-of-the-art training centre at the new Kirkby site.”
LFC secured planning permission for the redevelopment of Melwood in 2017 as part of a project to invest in new facilities for its first team and academy sides in Kirkby.
Work on the Kirkby site started in 2018 and the club will move next Summer.
DLA Piper in Liverpool acted for Liverpool Football Club on the sale of the training ground to Torus.
