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Michael Vaughan nets leisure chief's role
WHILE he has maintained he is committed to helping England regain cricket's greatest prize, Michael Vaughan is also laying the foundations for a new career outside sport.
The former England captain is embarking on a new role with one of the region's leading developers after he accepted a post on the company's board.
Vaughan has been appointed as the head of corporate leisure with the Skelwith Group, the firm behind plans to create a new exclusive hotel – the 100m Flaxby Country Club between York and Harrogate.
The Yorkshire and England batsman will use his extensive contacts to help build an impressive client list for the firm which is also overseeing the 30m development of Raithwaite Hall hotel at Sandsend, near Whitby.
While he was adamant that he still hopes to play a key role in England's attempts to regain the Ashes from the Australians this summer, Vaughan admitted the new venture was too good an opportunity to miss.
He said: "I'm still committed to get back into the England team and have another crack at Australia next year, but this is a
fantastic opportunity for the future.
"I've been involved with the Skelwith Group for over six months and am very excited to formalise my relationship with them. The firm is going from strength to strength and I want to be a part of their future success.
"I will be using the contacts and experience I have built up over the years to ensure the Flaxby Country Club, Raithwaite Hall and other exciting developments are an international success."
The Yorkshire Post revealed in May that Vaughan was expanding an impressive list of properties he already owns around the globe after agreeing to become involved in the Flaxby Country Club development.
Under a scheme which originated from America, he bought a room for an undisclosed sum at the five star hotel.
The acquisition was the latest in a burgeoning list of properties which the Yorkshire and England batsman has snapped up across the world.
In 2006 Vaughan bought a 1m villa in Barbados on the exclusive Royal Westmoreland estate, which serves as a second home to some of the world's most famous sporting stars including fellow Test cricketer Andrew Flintoff.
Vaughan also joined forces with Flintoff in another venture to invest in a wine bar, called Players, in Hale, near Manchester.
Skelwith Group managing director Paul Ellis said: "We are entering a very exciting stage of growth for the group and this appointment underlines our commitment to quality, both in our developments and our people.
"We are bucking the national trend and are actively developing sites throughout the North of England for a range of uses, increasingly five star leisure resorts.
"Having Michael on board formally is great as he is an inspirational leader and someone we feel can help us mature as a company even quicker."
The Skelwith Group, based in York, has drawn up plans for the 303-room Flaxby Country Club, which will also include four helipads, three restaurants, a luxury spa complex, bars and boutiques set in 283 acres of countryside.
Premiership footballers, mega-rich foreign royalty and world famous pop stars are among the target market and the backing of the cricketer has been seen as an endorsement of the project.
The hotel, with rooms available for up to 800 a night, will be set in woodland, although it is just off the A1 and a 30-minute drive from Leeds.
It is hoped the development will be completed by 2011 once its final designs have been agreed with Harrogate Council.
It emerged in October that the Skelwith Group bought the Raithwaite Hall estate, which was on the market for 4.7m, and submitted a planning application to build Whitby's first five star resort by creating a 42-bed boutique hotel.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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