Jason Rockett: How I went from Scarborough footballer and Sheffield United chief executive to commercial property boss

Now managing director of Leeds-based Potter Space, which builds and rents out business units to SMEs around the country, Rockett spent most of the 1990s playing for Scarborough during the club’s Football League heyday but filled his time away from the pitch by quietly working part-time for property giant Scarborough Group.

Mr Rockett, who had gained a degree in Urban Land Economics at Sheffield Hallam before becoming a professional footballer, says the opportunity came about after he was introduced to Scarborough Group founder Kevin McCabe.

"I knew I wasn’t going to retire on football and I had a degree in property,” he recalls. “You tended to have a day off a week and afternoons off, so rather than go on the golf course I worked around that.

"I didn’t put it in people’s faces, I got changed at work. But my teammates knew about it; you get all sorts in football teams. I was still one of the lads.”

When his football career was cut short by injury in his late 20s, Mr Rockett went full-time with Scarborough Group. Having initially worked on property management, Mr Rockett says he realised his passion was for development.

“I always used to see property developers coming into meetings and it seemed really exciting. I ended up asking to go into the meetings and carrying people’s bags. Once people left, I was a ready-made replacement.

"One thing I learnt from Kevin was to get into the office early. I used to get in at 6.30am – it is a time when you can do a lot of thinking but I also knew I had some catching up to do as others had been doing the job a lot longer. The one thing about sports people is to get to the top, you have to work hard and have to be dedicated.”

He was initially based in Leeds and worked on regional projects like the redevelopment of Redcar town centre but in 2001 was promoted to development director and moved to London to oversee the group’s £350m portfolio in the South.

By this point, Mr McCabe had become owner of his beloved Sheffield United and in 2005 he shocked Mr Rockett by asking him to become the club’s chief executive. His time in the job coincided with a dramatic period in the club’s history.

The Blades were promoted to the Premier League in 2006 but were controversially relegated the following season, with West Ham staying up in their place. West Ham had received a £5.5m fine but escaped a points deduction for breaching transfer rules when signing Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, with the latter scoring a series of vital goals – including a last-day winner – to keep them up.

A legal battle between the two clubs eventually resulted in a reported £20m compensation agreement in March 2009. The Blades had further heartbreak in May 2009 when they lost the Championship play-off final to Burnley; something Mr Rockett says was a “horrible feeling”.

"Football clubs are fantastic businesses but they are different. What happens on the football pitch matters more than anything else. We drove the business and increased revenue, we had a joint venture property company which created huge profits reinvested back into the football. But it comes down to how the players perform on the pitch.

"The promotion to the Premier League was fantastic. To be at the top table with Liverpool and Manchester United and Chelsea is the pinnacle. Off-field, we developed the stadium, we developed the hotel, we developed the academy.

"After getting relegated, we spent all summer in the law courts fighting the Tevez injustice. I look back on it and it was scandalous to be honest with you. It was a fudge how they did and Sheffield United was affected by it but that is in the past.”

He left the Blades to work as a director with Gentian Development Group, co-founding a property development vehicle which focused on creating residential, retail and office schemes in the south.

He became managing director of Yorkshire firm Potter Space in 2020, which was founded with a single lorry by farmer’s son Derrick Potter 60 years ago. Over the decades it has evolved from a logistics firm into a developer of business parks around the country, including in Ripon and Selby.

Mr Rockett says: “Family businesses are different to corporates and in my opinion they have better values and look after their people more. I met Derrick Potter and he walked me around his site in Ripon. He would stop to talk to people constantly, he knew everyone, he knew about their kids and grandkids. I could see he cared. I got the feeling straight away it had the right ethos and values as a business.”

The company’s business model involves building industrial and logistics units and renting them to SMEs. The firm is acquiring more sites, with a focus on new locations being within two hours of Leeds. “We want to be northern-focused company with Yorkshire roots.”

Mr Rockett says there has been one constant throughout his varied career. "People are the life blood of a business. I’ve always focused on building teams and I learnt from that football. You don’t always need to get on with people but you need to trust them. My strength is probably building effective teams that work hard, trust each other, challenge each other and have drive and common goals.

“I’m passionate about developing young people and giving them opportunities. When I finished football, Kevin McCabe gave me an opportunity. Without that I wouldn’t have done what I’ve done in my career. It has stayed with me that it is important to develop your people and give them opportunities to grow. Derrick Potter is keen on development of people. Building teams has come from football and everyone I have worked with.”