News: Millmoor no more? Demolition plans for historic Rotherham United football stadium

It is getting on for 20 years since the last league game at Millmoor, the "spiritual home of Rotherham United," but the next fixture at the abandoned stadium could be a date with the wrecking ball.

Ron Hull Group said that it planned to demolish parts of the Millmoor Football Ground due to it’s poor condition and the "long term lack of a viable user".

Ron Hull Group, the new owners of CF Booth Ltd, took on the old football ground when it acquired the assests of the historic Rotherham firm that had entered administration.

Rothbiz reported last month that, having taken over the Clarence Works at Armer Street in Masbrough, Ron Hull has been assessing the buildings on the site, with many found to be in a state of disrepair. The company has engaged with the local planning authority, Rotherham Council, over the method of demolition for buildings on the site.

Now a similar planning application has been submitted for the football stadium which sits on the 35-acre site, alongside the huge scrap yard.

The application is "to determine whether prior approval is required of the method of demolition and restoration of the site re:- demolition of Admin Building, Tivoli club with accommodation over, Press Box, incomplete main stand, Tivoli Stand, Terrace and Uncovered Stand, part of Millmoor Lane stand, All pitch lighting columns, and other football associated buildings."

Despite its origins dating back to 1890, and the association with The Millers and their fans, Millmooor is not a listed building, or recognised on the South Yorkshire Local Heritage List. Owners generally have permitted development rights regarding the demolition of buildings they own but are often required to get prior approval from the local council.

Applicants say that some decisions are still to be made. At present no decision has been made about the pitch and the remaining stands which are not included in the current demolition application.

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A statement on behalf of the Ron Hull Group, said: "The buildings and structures selected in the current application to demolish are all in a poor condition due to years of neglect and are suffering from a general lack of maintenance, specifically elements like roof finishes and the structures themselves. It is assumed this situation accelerated in the period since Rotherham United football Club vacated the site.

"The current main stand is only partially completed, and has been exposed to the elements since at least 2007. The high cost of repair, yet alone proceed to complete this stand would be excessive given that there are very limited numbers of possible users of the ground. Thus meaning it is unbuyable."

Rotherham Church Institute played at MIllmoor in the Sheffield Association League in 1890. Rotherham County obtained a lease at Millmoor from the Midland Railway Company in 1907 and scores of volunteers and donors were drafted in to help build a stadium for league football. When the Football League was resumed in 1919, Rotherham County applied successfully to join for the first time while Rotherham Town's application was turned down. The first league game took place at Millmoor as County beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 in August 1919.

County and Town combined and Rotherham United was officially born on May 27, 1925. Millmoor was Rotherham United's home until the last game in 2008. It hosted the first Football League Cup in 1961 and even top flight rugby.

Rotherham United fell into administration for the second time in 2008 having previously been owned by the Booth family, owners of Millmoor and the large scrap business that surrounds it.

Local businessman Tony Stewart of ASD Lighting brought the club out of administration via a Creditors Voluntary Agreement but then came the decision to play home games at the now demolished Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, after working hard to get a deal to carry on playing at Millmoor.

The club was charged with returning to play home games in its home town within four seasons by the Football League and the £20m AESSEAL New York Stadium, on the edge of Rotherham town centre and in view of Millmoor, hosted its first Millers game in 2012.

The Millmoor ground, famed for the quality of the playing surface and its compact size that often created a raucous atmosphere. was never glamorous and lacked many of the features of modern stadia. Since 2008 it is not exactly a "ghost ground" as it has been used for kickabouts, charity games and youth football.

In 2011 talks between Rotherham Rugby Club, Rotherham Council and CF Booth Ltd came to an end with the Rotherham Titans unable to stage home games at Millmoor again after "a commercially viable solution could not be found."

Last year Rothbiz reported that Doncaster Rovers Belles had arranged to play home games at Millmoor but they were forced to return to their nomadic existence before the end of the season.

Ron Hull Group website

Images: Google Maps / DRFC

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News: CF Booth Ltd sold out of admin to the Ron Hull Group

The joint administrators of historic Rotherham firm, CF Booth Limited have announced that they have concluded a sale of the company’s business and assets to Hu11 Limited, a subsidiary of Ron Hull Jnr Limited.

James Lumb and Howard Smith from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to CF Booth Limited, one of the UK’s leading metal recycling companies, on 16 January 2026 and subsequently appointed Joint Administrators over a further five of the Company’s subsidiaries on 20 January 2026.

As reported by Rothbiz, subsequently, on March 10, James Lumb and Howard Smith were appointed joint administrators to Demex Limited and Albion Jones Limited, also subsidiaries of CF Booth. Immediately following these appointments, the joint administrators completed a sale of substantially all the assets of all eight Companies to Hu11 Limited. The transactions for Demex and Albion Jones were going concern sales, allowing the demolition business to continue operations.

An earlier update from administrators showed that there were six shortlisted bidders for the group.

Headquartered and founded in Rotherham in the 1920s, CF Booth grew from a local metal trader into one of the largest independently run metal recycling companies in Europe. With its 35-acre site at Armer Street, Masbrough, the business has been family owned and operated and once employed over 200 staff, trading both ferrous and non-ferrous metals and processes recycled materials for a wide range of customers across the UK and beyond.

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Founded in Rotherham in 1976, Ron Hull Group has grown to become one of Yorkshire’s most recognisable companies providing a range of metal recovery and waste recycling services. Its Ron Hull Jnr division is one of the largest scrap metal traders in the North of England, buying and selling all grades of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. It operates from large sites on the Barbot Hall Industrial Estate.

As part of the transaction, all 29 members of staff employed by Demex and Albion Jones have transferred to Hu11 Limited.

James Lumb, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “CF Booth is a big part of both the regional community and the UK and European metal recycling sector. The Ron Hull name is synonymous across South Yorkshire for scrap metal trading, so we are pleased to have concluded these transactions which not only preserve jobs for employees of Demex and Albion Jones but which we hope, in due course, will also see operations recommence at CF Booth’s sites in Rotherham.”

Nigel and Mark Hull, directors of Ron Hull Jr Limited, said: “As a business which has operated in Rotherham for 50 years, we’re pleased to have been able to secure this transaction which reaffirms our commitment and support to the local area. We are incredibly proud of what our father Ron Hull has achieved, and look forward to building upon this success as we welcome the Demex and Albion Jones team to the Ron Hull family.”

Ron Hull Group website

Images: Google Maps

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News: Six bidders for CF Booth

A potential sale of historic Rotherham firm, CF Booth is still on the cards with six bidders lined up, but further connected companies have gone into administration.

Headquartered and founded in Rotherham in the 1920s, CF Booth has grown from a local metal trader into one of the largest independently run metal recycling companies in Europe. With its 35-acre site at Armer Street, Masbrough, the business has been family owned and operated and once employed over 200 staff, trading both ferrous and non-ferrous metals and processes recycled materials for a wide range of customers across the UK and beyond.

Rothbiz reported first that James Lumb and Howard Smith from Interpath had been appointed after CF Booth Limited posted significant losses and the sad death of a director.

In January 54 members of staff were retained to assist the administrators with 114 members of staff made redundant.

An update from Interpath explains that since then, the company has carried out limited stock processing, finalising work in progress, whilst exploring opportunities to achieve a sale of the business and assets.

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The update states: "Following the Company's entry into administration, we commenced an accelerated marketing and sale process to maximise realisations and reduce holding costs for the benefit of creditors. The appointment generated immediate interest, and we undertook a broader outreach exercise to engage potential acquirers.

"Interest was sourced from parties known to be interested by the Company, direct approaches received by the Administrators, and Interpath's sector networks. In total, 66 parties were contacted as part of the marketing exercise.

"All parties expressing interest in acquiring the full business and asset base were encouraged to visit the site. Thes visits were coordinated to ensure safe access and to allow bidders to assess operations and fixed assets.

"We operated a streamlined timeline during which marketing materials were shared, site visits completed and offers invited. A range of bids were received with differing scopes and conditions. Following assessment, six bidders were shortlisted based on value, deliverability, and alignment with creditor outcomes. They were granted access to additional information and invited into detailed negotiations, supported by external legal advisers who have issued sale and purchase agreements.

"At the date of this report [February 26], a sale of the business and assets has not yet been concluded. We are progressing potential sale and purchase agreements with several parties and expect to provide a further update in our next report."

The administrators report discloses that in the unaudited management accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025, CF Booth Ltd recorded turnover of £107.3m and a loss of £5.3m. The company had recorded losses in each of the previous three years.

The report adds that staff members are preferential creditors and should share £144,022. Realisations from the sale of stock and work in progress to date have enabled the costs of the administration, including the costs of the retained staff.

One of the group's largest debt is with IGF, which only provided a £20m asset-based lending facility in 2025. The debt totalled £14.2m and administrators expect IGF will be repaid in full.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is listed as a secondary preferential creditor in respect of £1.2m in outstanding VAT, PAYE and National Insurance Contributions with Interpath expecting that they should receive a dividend.

£30.6m is owed to unsecured creditors. Administrators say: "Based on present estimates, there may be a return to unsecured creditors. However, this is dependent on the value achieved from the sale of business and assets (which is not yet known), and the final costs of the administration which are also presently uncertain."

The unsecured creditors list include £3.5m - Employees, £14.3m - Intercompany creditors and another £2.2m - HMRC.

Rothbiz reported last month that a number of connected Booth companies had also gone into administration. Now Demex, the group's demolition business, and Albion Jones Ltd, join Northfield Aluminium Limited, Booth Transport Limited, C.F. Booth (Engineering) Limited, C.F. Booth (Doncaster) Limited and Booth Steel Stockholders Limited.

The report explains: "Over recent months, the business experienced substantial operational and financial headwinds, including sharp rises in energy costs and pronounced volatility in copper prices. These market pressures materially undermined margins and generated a level of cost volatility that the business was unable to absorb.

"In addition, the Company faced escalating cost burdens arising from increases to the National Living Wage and growing environmental compliance obligations. Additional strain was caused by VAT liabilities and penalties imposed by the Health and Safety Executive, all of which compounded the deterioration in cashflow and further weakened the Company's financial resilience."

CF Booth received notice that its appeal against an historical VAT Penalty assessment dating back a decade was unsuccessful resulting in a penalty of £1.4m becoming payable to HMRC. C F Booth Ltd was then fined £1.2m by the HSE after an investigation following the death of an employee on site.

Interpath website

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News: £36m Rotherham market taking shape

The £36m refurbishment of Rotherham Markets has taken a major steps forward, including the demolition of the Guardian Centre buildings, the removal of the markets’ iconic tent roof and new steelwork erected.

Appointed by lead contractor, Henry Boot Construction, Rotherham-based demolition experts, Demex, were responsible for the dismantling of the iconic tensile fabric tent and its supporting metal structure, which has been a recognisable part of Rotherham’s town centre for almost three decades.

Demex were also in charge of carefully managing the pulling down of the former Drummond Street shops – also known as the Guardian Centre buildings – to the Henry Street corner of the site.

This carefully managed process has seen the first visual changes at the historic site and showcases the exciting change Henry Boot Construction is delivering in the town centre.

Construction began in May last year on the project, which is a key part of Rotherham Council’s wider town centre masterplan set to become a new cultural and social focal point for the town.

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Modernisations to the existing Rotherham Markets structure will build upon the existing shops and services on the ground floor, with the addition of a new food hall and dining area on the first level. The adjoining outdoor market will be refurbished to become a multi-functional space used to host exhibitions and community events.

Alongside the markets, a striking new library has been designed with the town’s community needs in mind. This modern, flexible venue will feature a dedicated children’s area, café, community meeting spaces, working spaces, a business development facility and IT centre.

Interlinking the markets and library will be a series of high-quality public spaces, helping to enhance the appearance, accessibility and inclusivity of the area, as well as seamlessly connecting it to the rest of the town centre and Rotherham College.

With the demolition stage complete, work continues with the installation of the steel frame for the new outdoor covered market (OCM) and library.

The project is expected to complete in 2027.

Demex website
Henry Boot website

Images: Tom Austen / Henry Boot / Demex

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News: Rotherham Markets development now expected to complete in 2027

Work has started on the demolition of the former Drummond Street shops – also known as the Guardian Centre buildings – at the Rotherham Markets site this week, paving the way for the development’s brand-new town centre library.

Second only to the £47m Forge Island development in terms of town centre investment, the £36m revamp was originally scheduled to finish in December 2025 but the latest update from contractors, Henry Boot says that "work on the entire Rotherham Markets development is expected to complete in 2027."

Having secured government money (£8.9m) from the Future High Streets Fund in 2020 for the project, a funding gap of £9.8m was identified in 2022, largely due to the impact of inflation on the project delivery costs. With the council filling the funding gap, work got underway last year.

The latest milestone in the project marks the first visual change at the historic markets site for members of the public, showcasing tangible progress in the creation of a more inviting, inclusive and accessible area of the town centre.

The demolition of the Guardian Centre buildings will last approximately six weeks. Rotherham-based Demex is the demolition subcontractor.

Once cleared, the site will become the location for the new modern, central library, which will tie into the vibrant refurbishment of the indoor and outdoor-covered markets, and extensive public realm improvements.

The new library building has been designed with the town’s community needs in mind. It will feature a dedicated children’s area, café, community meeting spaces, working spaces, a business development facility, IT centre and more.

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Cllr Robert Taylor, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy at Rotherham Council, said: "We are committing to investing in Rotherham’s future, and the removal of the older buildings brings us one step closer to a fantastic market development which will contain dynamic spaces for all to enjoy, whilst providing exciting opportunities for local businesses.

"In the meantime, Rotherham Indoor Market remains open for business as usual with a range of outdoor markets now taking place in the town centre, so I encourage everyone to continue to support our local traders until they are in their new facilities."

Once the demolition of the Drummond Street shops is complete in December, the distinctive outdoor market canopy – including fabric cover, support wires, and structural frame – will be removed in stages.

Tony Shaw, Managing Director at Henry Boot, said: "This is a significant moment in the Rotherham Markets redevelopment project, as it marks a key period of visual change for the town centre. This phase is making way for the future vision of the town centre – one that will help increase footfall and drive further growth and investment in the town. We look forward to continuing our work with Rotherham Council to breathe new life into the town centre."

The plans, which were approved in 2023, will bring together the library, markets, food hall, gallery, and event spaces onto one site, off Drummond Street. Once works are complete, visitors will benefit from a refurbished indoor and outdoor covered market, and an external recreation area.

Henry Boot Construction website

Images: RMBC

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News: "No interest" in Corporation Street mixed use scheme

The private sector has shown little interest in a multimillion pound mixed use regeneration scheme in Rotherham town centre, despite the council securing the site, and funds to pay for demolition and help fill a viability gap.

As a way forward for redevelopment is reviewed, a contractor has been appointed to clear the site on Corporation Street.

The buildings that make up 3-7 Corporation Street have been a long-standing eyesore in Rotherham. The restaurant at no.7 suffered fire damage in 2005 with the nightclub above suffering a similar fate in 2007. The restaurant at no. 3-5 was also fire damaged in July 2011.

Rothbiz reported in October 2023 that, having acquired the properties and secured planning permission for a £6m scheme, Rotherham Council began a tender excercise to appoint a developer for the site.

Tender documents showed that Rotherham Council wanted a developer to deliver, manage and own the development with the contract having a total anticipated value of £4.2m, based on a council contribution plus the anticipated sales value of residential and commercial units outlined in the approved scheme.

The documents added: "The Council is seeking to appoint a developer who will lead, finance, manage delivery, and retain ownership of the scheme. Other than securing and transferring the land to the developer and funding any viability gap that may exist on the development, the Council does not anticipate having any role in the development or the longer-term ownership and management of the site."

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However, council minutes now show that, following the tender exercise, there "was no interest, likely due to the smaller size of the scheme."

Designed by AHR Architects, the proposals show a mixed use building, between two and four storeys in height, comprising 19 1-bed and 2-bed flats and three units totalling 1,238 sq ft of commercial floorspace, plus access, external landscaping and car parking.

Discussions have taken place regarding further options to create a wider package of development in the area, which has been earmarked by the council as an emerging leisure and cultural quarter. Other sites, close to the soon-to-complete Forge Island scheme, include the former bank buildings and the vacant former bingo hall / cinema, which is also owned by the council.

Corporation Street and the Riverside Gardens area is also set to benefit from significant public realm improvements.

For the burnt out buildings site, £3.2m has already been secured through the Town Deal and Levelling Up funds which was intended to be used to acquire the land, clear the site and address the viability gap that exists in the development scheme.

This week, local firm, Demex Ltd, has been confirmed as the contractor leading on the demolition of the burnt out buildings.

The demolition is said to be complex due to vegetation and asbestos and as such will happen in two parts starting with the nightclub and followed by the restaurant.

The £108,000 contract explains that: "It is anticipated that the contract will commence in April 2024 and will run for a period of 12 weeks making the expiry date September 2024 (over 2 phases 8/4 weeks)."

Images: AHR / Google Maps

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