Welcome to Advnture, the new home of AnglersMail.co.uk
Erics Angling Centre was bought by Angling Direct for a cool £1.1 million.
Now Erics Angling founder Sam Anderson plans to use the dosh to develop his Willows Lake in West Yorkshire.
He will turn it into a major fishery to rival the likes of Oxford’s Linear Fisheries. And there will be a huge tackle shop on-site.
Sam said: “My plan is to develop the lake into one of the country’s top fisheries and build a tackle shop actually on the site.”
Sam continued: “It’s already a great venue with tremendous carp fishing but I want to make it a state-of-the-art fishery on a par with anywhere in the country.
“There would be a number of lakes to cater for different types of angling, and super facilities, which should draw anglers from all over the area,” he added.
Willows, based near Metley, is a 25-acre gravel pit and is already one of the top carp venues in the north of England.
It has a lake record of 61 lb 2 oz caught in June this year by Paul Owens plus at least three other 50s.
Erics Angling Centre changes
Angling Direct had already opened a store in Leeds so Erics Angling shop has closed down in the Yorkshire city.
But it’s a different story down south. AD will take over the state-of-the-art flagship Erics Angling store at Buckinghamshire’s Farlows Lake.
And it has also taken on the popular Erics Angling internet business.
AD chief executive Darren Bailey said: “Erics Angling is a premium business, providing thousands of regular customers with a high standard of service.
“We look forward to welcoming these customers to Angling Direct and introducing them to the high-quality and broad range of our products and services.
“The board is delighted to have acquired this business, which we believe will have a positive impact on our future trading performance over both the short and medium term.”
Recently it was revealed AD had announced £26.6 million in sales in the six months to September. That’s a trend-defying 21 per cent increase. And AD were still rapidly expanding their existing 34 stores.
