Advising on the acquisition of Branston Golf & Country Club

Branston Golf & Country Club has been successfully purchased by a group of individuals comprising of its current managing director, Ben Laing, and four members of a local family.

The concept of Branston Golf & Country Club was established in 1992 by Roger Kerry and the Kerry family in conjunction with the landowners East Staffordshire Borough Council. The initial development phase included an 18-hole championship golf course and a leisure facility complex including a swimming pool and clubhouse.

Subsequent investment has seen the addition of a golf driving range and retail outlet, a second 9-hole golf course, outside hot-tub and spa area, as well as a purpose-built conference, banqueting and wedding venue (The Pavilion).

The club also has a crèche, independently owned hair and beauty salon, treatment rooms, physiotherapy services, and extensive free on-site parking.

The new owners are all locally based with strong family connections. In addition to Ben Laing, the other members of the buy-out group include Steve and Francesca Sharp, and Marcus and Abby Litting. Francesca already has an established relationship with the club having joined as HR Manager in 2014. The new owners have made it clear that the company will continue operating under a ‘business as usual’ approach, delivering the premium facilities that its loyal members and visitors have come to expect and enjoy from the club.

Our Head of Corporate & Finance, Martyn Brierley, who advised the new owners, comments:

“It has been a pleasure to work with Ben Laing along with the new owners Steve and Francesca Sharp and Marcus and Abby Litting on the successful buy-out of Branston Golf and Country Club. I’m confident that with Ben’s experience as managing director of the club and previously in other roles in this sector, combined with the added skill sets which Steve, Francesca, Marcus and Abby bring to the table, that the club will go from strength-to-strength. It is already a fantastic leisure facility, and the new team will build on this over the coming years to further enhance the facilities for all members and guests.”

Advised by Else Solicitors and Smith Cooper, Roger Kerry comments on his disposal of Branston Golf & Country Club:

“As I approach my 80th birthday, and after 25 years of hard work establishing a premium facility serving a large number of loyal members, I wanted to make sure that anybody taking over the club would continue the high standards and offerings that underpin Branston Golf & Country Club. I am therefore delighted that the club will continue to operate under independent ownership and with strong local connections.”

L-R: Steve Sharp, Francesca Sharp, Ben Laing, Abby Litting, Marcus Litting. Picture: Alex Cantrill-Jones / ACJ Media