Mount St Mary’s: Offers accepted on large part of former private school’s multi-million pound estate including Grade II listed chapel and church leased to the Diocese of Hallam
Administrators in charge of the former Mount St Mary's private school and college near Sheffield have confirmed they have accepted offers for a large part of the group’s estates.
Mount St Mary’s College, along with its associated prep school, Barlborough Hall School, closed down in July of last year, with the sites then listed for sale in January by Hilco Global.
Though financial details have not been disclosed, administrators confirmed in a newly released report that they had accepted offers on a swathe of agricultural land at Barlborough Hall School and the entirety of Mount St Mary's College.
Mount St Mary's College comprises various buildings and school grounds, including a Grade II listed chapel, various residential dwellings, and a church which is leased to the Diocese of Hallam.
The agricultural land at Barlborough Hall is subject to lease with a neighbouring farmer, according to administrator’s reports.
A 2021 valuation of the group’s estimated a value of between £4m and £8m.
This valuation included the entirety of the Barlborough Hall estate, which features a Grade I listed building, residential dwelling and school grounds. These sites were not included in the accepted offers.
A statement in the report relating to the remaining properties said: “Hilco will continue to market the remainder of Barlborough Hall, being the School buildings and surrounding grounds, for sale.
“Whilst there has been some initial interest to date, there have been no offers received to purchase the property. A revised marketing strategy is being considered as a result.”
Though the 2021 valuation was noted in reports, administrators had previously described the “true value” of the properties as “inherently uncertain”.
A statement in the latest report added: “Given the nature of the properties, complexities in respect of their makeup and title, listed status of certain buildings and the fact that the Schools have ceased trading, the true value of each property was deemed inherently uncertain, and the actual value has been dictated by the marketing process.”
Documents posted to Companies House in October showed that Mount St Mary’s, the company behind both the school and college, had debts of just over £10m when it shut down.
Around £4.7m of the debt is owed to the Jesuits in Britain, the group which founded both schools.
The group first founded Mount St Mary's College in 1842, later opening Barlborough Hall in 1939.
The Jesuits in Britain directly operated the schools until 2006, when governance was handed over to a separate, independent trust. At the time of the transfer, the Jesuits gifted the buildings, land and investments of the schools to the new governing body, as well as an additional cash sum of £7.1m.
The Jesuits in Britain also went on to provide around £3m in loans to the new trust.
Proceeds from the sales of the group’s properties are expected to be used to pay off debts to the Jesuits in Britain, which include a £2,954,095 loan account balance.
The latest report from administrators said: “Legal advisors have been instructed to progress these sales, with a view to completion as soon as possible.”
Documents posted to Companies House in October said that “steadily” declining pupil numbers since 2015 had played a major role in the closure of the group, with Mount St Mary’s struggling for years to reach its estimated breakeven level of 600 students. The introduction of VAT on school fees and rising utility costs were also cited amongst pressures faced by the schools, as well as reduced income brought on by the pandemic.