Property Shop, Accrington based letting agents, are the talk of the town after a brilliant, fun-filled, sponsorship launch at Accrington Cricket Club.

David Lloyd (Bumble), sky sports pundit and previous player for Lancashire County Cricket Club unveiled the three-year sponsorship for the new ‘Property Shop Arena’ and club shirts.

David Lloyd commented:

“It has been my pleasure to come along and announce the Property Shop sponsorship today. This will give the cricket club a new lease of life and make it a focal point for the community. People know that I come from Accrington and played for Accrington Cricket Club, it gives me a great sense of pride to see the cricket club doing so well, what a great afternoon.”

David Lloyd showing Steven and Allen pictures from the previous night when he was with The Rolling Stones!

Property Shop are specialised letting agents who have seen their business grow rapidly in the last few years. Now managing over 100 Million worth of rentals throughout the north-west they highlighted how it is key for them to support their community.

Steven Chippendale and Jamie Allen, local Accrington lads, are joint Managing Directors of Property Shop. Property Shop gives landlords unrivalled reassurance with checks such as visiting potential tenants in their current home, as well as thorough, regular and documented inspections.

Steven said:

“This is a great day for us, seeing our name up there gives myself and Jamie a great sense of pride, I hope through the sponsorship deal the Cricket Club sees an influx in visitors. It is a brilliant space in the heart of the community that needs to be used. I also hope this can inspire other local businesses to get involved with local clubs and events. I would also like to say thank you to Alan Pilkington for supplying the transport for the school children to get here today, it’s really appreciated! The children also clearly loved riding on the double-decker Pilkington buses.”

The launch event saw 111, year 3 and 5 school children and teachers from Peel Park Primary School and St Mary Magdalene’s School arrive on Pilkington buses. The children were invited to take part in the celebrations through a fun-filled afternoon of activities and games. All Stars, Lancashire Cricket club led the afternoon with an introduction to cricket for the children.

James Hayhurst, first team player for Accrington Cricket Club said:

“I would like to personally say thanks to Steven and Jamie at Property Shop, not only have they signed a three-year deal for ground naming rights and shirts, they have brought along over 100 primary school children to enjoy the ground and celebrate with us. It is a pleasure to see local council leaders, primary schools, Accrington Rossendale College students and All-Stars from Lancashire County Cricket club all coming together. We will definitely be wearing our new shirts with pride and I hope the community will all come and support us at our next game. One of the main things the sponsorship money will buy is a coach for our junior players, it will make a huge difference.”

Peel Park year 3 school children and St Mary Magdelenes year 5 school children with David Lloyd, teachers and Pilkington buses after arriving at Accrington Cricket Club

Ross Atkinson from All-Stars Lancashire Cricket Club said:

“We have spent the afternoon showing children just how fun and exciting cricket can be, through games and mini training sessions. They have all done brilliantly – I’m very impressed! Our next All Stars project starts this Friday in Accrington, its open to all children aged 5-8 years, just head to our website to book.”

Accrington and Rossendale College provided 3 sports science degree students for the event to give them some hands-on experience teaching children and also to offer the children a turn on their exciting sports equipment, BATAK lite.

Gareth Henry, Sport Programme Leader at Accrington and Rossendale College said:

“It has been a pleasure to bring the sports science students here today. I think it’s great that Property Shop have teamed up with a place of such importance for the local community and the students have been excited to be part of it. We have brought along BATAK lite and the children have had a brilliant time trying it out! It’s a tool used to improve reactions and hand-eye coordination. It’s impressive watching the primary school children, their skills improved with just a few tries, and they definitely enjoyed it.”

Miles Parkinson, Leader of the Council said:

“What a wonderful day for the borough. There is a sports triangle here in Accrington. The Cricket Club, The Higham’s playing fields development and Accrington Stanley Football Club. We want to give children and the community the best opportunities possible- having a company like the Property Shop invest in a sponsorship deal is wonderful. They are great guys and the whole community is grateful for their commitment and drive to improve the area.”

Lyndsey Sims, CEO of Hyndburn Leisure Trust added:

“One of my big passions is encouraging youth to be active, it’s been my pleasure to see so many children here today taking part in sports and enjoying themselves. I want to personally thank Property Shop for the event and for inviting us all along. Congratulations to them on their sponsorship, Property Shop Arena will definitely be the talk of the town! I hope it encourages more families to visit and get involved in everything that goes on here.”

Keiren Grimshaw, James Hayhurst, Janith Liyanage – first team players for Accrington Cricket Club

Alison Padgett, Head Teacher at Peel Park Primary said:

“We are thrilled to be here, 91 year-3 children from Peel Park Primary School have come along today to take part and celebrate the launch of Property Shop’s sponsorship of Accrington Cricket Club grounds and shirts. They have had so much fun, the sports session and games with All-Stars and Accrington Rossendale College have been the highlight, I bet all of them will be going home begging to come back! It is also great to see local leaders getting involved, the Cricket Club is a brilliant space and we need to utilise it as a community.”

  1. Hardman, year 6 Teacher at St. Mary Magdalene’s said:

“What a day for the children! We have brought 30 year-5 pupils from St. Mary Magdalene’s School. I asked them pupils how many had been to Accrington Cricket Club before today and there weren’t many hands-on show, days like today will stick in their memory. We are all about promoting health, wellbeing and choice – the opportunity to come along to something like this is not to be missed. I have to say; the new signs look awesome!”

The backdrop to the launch of the Property Shop Arena saw a transformation taking place with the building being brightened up – ready for the Cricket Season.

Phil Burgess, Deputy Head of Construction at Accrington and Rossendale College said:

“Today we have had our Plastering, Painting and Decorating Students giving the clubhouse a new lease of life for the coming summer months. They are really excited to be part of this launch event and as most of our students are also based in Accrington they feel a great sense of pride from working on projects like this. We like to take the students out on ‘real’ jobs as much as possible. Not only to improve their future career prospects but to give them work experience and be involved in community projects. I have to say they have done a wonderful job, the building work has been a challenge. We had to also consider fitting in the work with their college commitments however it has been really rewarding and a great experience.”

Jamie Allen, Joint Managing Director of Property Shop said:

“Today has been really exciting. First, the announcement of our sponsorship deal from David Lloyd and seeing our brand around the area- then all the children have arrived and had an energetic afternoon with Accrington Rossendale College Students and All-Stars Lancashire Cricket Club leading activities; and to finish off seeing the clubhouse being painted and transformed by the students… it’s overwhelming.”

Next Accrington Cricket Club home matches: Saturday 9th June 2018, Friday 22nd June

Cost to attend match: £4 for adults £2 for children (up to age 14)

The Clubhouse at Accrington Cricket club offers exclusive room hire for FREE, for all events and celebrations. With a licenced bar, catering facilities and dancefloor it is a brilliant community space, just a refundable deposit is needed to secure the space.

For more information about Property Shop visit: www.propertyshopltd.com

For more information about Accrington Cricket Club visit: www.accringtoncc.com

For more information about All-Stars visit: www.ecb.co.uk/play

For more information about Accrington and Rossendale College visit: www.accross.co.uk