Amir Khan is selling his luxury Bolton wedding venue for £12.5million, just three months after opening.
The boxing icon’s opulent “Dubai-style” tower opened in May with violins and palm trees, but it is in an insalubrious location: across from a car wash and an illegal waste dump.
The venue, called ‘The Balmayna’, suffered from broken fridges, sofas and dirty mattresses due to fly-tippers in January.
And now Khan, 37, who once wanted to stage boxing matches at the site, is inviting bidders to take it over from him.
‘I want to sell my wedding venue for £12.5 million. The property has four floors, including three dedicated wedding floors and a roof terrace for events,’ he wrote on X.
Amir Khan sells his Bolton wedding venue for £12.5m, three months after opening
The British boxing icon has put millions into it and it has opened after long delays
Fly-tippers were relentless in throwing away refrigerators and mattresses near the location
Khan’s venue has three wedding floors and can accommodate up to 200 vehicles
‘In addition, there is parking at both the front and rear with space for up to 200 vehicles.’
He invited interested parties to contact him by email.
Work on the Washington Street site has taken much longer than expected as it has been plagued by delays. His investment in it is reportedly between £5 million and £12.5 million.
‘The Balmayna’ opened with a bang in May as the very first bridal couple celebrated their big day in style.
Video footage showed guests being serenaded by violins in front of palm trees and eating fruit snacks served by staff in bow ties, as the bride arrived in a horse-drawn carriage and the groom in a Rolls Royce.
Just a few months before the wedding, photos showed the wedding venue’s grand chandelier hanging from a corrugated metal roof, near a smoke detector and wires.
But footage from the event showed how quickly staff resolved the issues, with the building’s opulent marble floors and chandeliers on display for all guests to see.
A spokesperson for Balmayna said: ‘The first love story at Balmayna. So elegant, so magical, just a dream. Wishing our bride and groom the happiest of blessings. Such a beautiful setting for your memories.’
An aerial photograph shows how close Khan’s location is to where the waste was dumped
An old trash can and a broken refrigerator were dumped at the location weeks before the opening in May
A filthy old mattress and an abandoned suitcase can be seen among huge piles of rubbish near the complex
A dirty refrigerator was dumped outside the wedding venue where the first wedding was held in March
The former light welterweight world champion blamed “unprofessional management” for the delays.
Opinions on the building’s design are divided, with one fan comparing it to a building in Dubai, where Khan partly lives, while others liken it to the Premier League trophy.
Earlier this year, people living in the area were less than pleased with the design. One person wrote on Instagram: ‘It is an absolute eyesore!!!! A blot on the landscape!!! It is a huge lack of class! It also looks nothing like the image depicted.’
In January, broken refrigerators, couches and dirty mattresses were dumped around the site by fly-tippers, while mountains of household waste littered the streets leading to the imposing structure.
Pieces of plaster are missing from the walls around the building and the brickwork at the entrance to the building is damaged.
Local resident Georgina Pickering added: ‘It looks a bit messy at the moment with all the rubbish down the sides and walls, but that will all be gone by the time it opens.
A man said, “My fiancée is currently looking at possible wedding venues, but this isn’t on her list.”
“The building is huge, like a giant greenhouse like you see in Dubai. It looks strange compared to everything that was here, but it’s an improvement on what was there before.”
But 40-year-old Iqbal Azal, a local resident, said: ‘I don’t mind. Yes, it’s big and noisy, but at least Amir is trying to improve the neighbourhood.’
Before the festive unveiling, Balmayna’s Instagram page was already buzzing with excitement.
“With immense joy the wait is almost over! We will soon be unveiling the grand opening of @thebalmayna, Bolton’s newest wedding haven,” the post read.
‘A beautiful project between Excellency Midlands and Amir Khan, where elegance seamlessly blends with excellence.’