Capitol Park’s Sterling House acquired by online sports network Pitchero

Sterling Capitol, the property development and investment company, has sold Sterling House at Capitol Park, Leeds, to online sports network Pitchero for an undisclosed sum.

The deal was brokered by the Leeds offices of property consultancies JLL and Knight Frank, which both represented Sterling Capitol.

Sterling House, a self-contained 3,546 sq ft office building in the centre of Capitol Park, was formerly Sterling Capitol’s headquarters, before the company moved to central Leeds.

Founded in 2007, Pitchero is a global network of over 12,000 sports websites uniting millions of players, parents, coaches and club officials online. The company has relocated from Birstall and brought 16 members of staff to Capitol Park.

Mike Heydecke of Sterling Capitol commented: “This is an important deal for us, as the money raised helps us to concentrate on future developments at all of our motorway business parks at Leeds, Barnsley and Goole.

“We have some extremely exciting plans in the pipeline, which will create much-needed business space and jobs in both West and South Yorkshire.

“In particular, Capitol Park Leeds is a tremendous success story and recent lettings and deals have taken it to the 1,500 jobs target for Phase One. It is one of the brightest success stories of the Yorkshire out-of-town business parks and continues to attract first-class tenants. We are looking to build on this success.

“We are delighted to welcome Pitchero to Capitol Park. They are a great example of a young, successful and dynamic company creating jobs and providing a popular service in our digital age. We already have a great mix of occupiers at Capitol Park Leeds, including Hermes, Barratt Homes, Depuy, the Village Hotel, the NHS, AvailableCar, and Henderson Insurance Brokers and Pitchero will add to this attractive diversity.”

Richard Thornton, partner specialising in office agency with JLL, said: “This is a significant deal for the out-of-town investment market in Yorkshire. There has been some post-Brexit uncertainty in the market, but this deal underlines that there is still a healthy appetite for well-located and attractive properties like Sterling House.

“Its location at the heart of Capitol Park East, just off Junction 28 of the M62 and within five miles of the centre of Leeds, is excellent as are its high-standard facilities, which include ample car parking spaces, conference rooms and well-designed open plan offices on two levels.”

Mark Fletcher, managing director of Pitchero, added: “As the UK’s largest online grassroots sports network, we are expanding fast and Sterling House is perfect for our needs.

“Its distinctive design and light-filled, open-plan offices, together with ample car parking spaces and excellent location close to the heart of Yorkshire’s motorway network, makes it ideal. We have only just moved in, but feel at home already.

“United on one unique platform, we provide a free service for each club, league or county organisations with the tools they need to create a website, manage their membership and collect payments online. Each website is supported by a range of mobile apps designed to save time and improve club and team communication,” said Mr Fletcher. “Our goal is to unite the world of semi-professional and amateur sports online.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →