BRISTOL Rovers have been given leave to appeal the High Court judgment in their court case against Sainsbury’s which pulled out of an agreement to buy the club's stadium.

The club appeared before Mrs Justice Proudman at 10.30am in the High Court this morning seeking permission to appeal.

Mrs Justice Proudman, who initially ruled in favour of the supermarket chain when she announced her verdict on Monday, July 13, agreed to allow an appeal after the club’s barristers outlined the reasoning behind the application.

Rovers’ plans to build a new 21,700-seater stadium, on University of the West of England (UWE) land at Stoke Gifford, hinged on the deal made with the supermarket chain in 2011 for the company to buy the Memorial Stadium and turn it into a store.

A spokesman for Bristol Rovers Football Club said: “After digesting the initial judgment in full, the club’s lawyers felt the majority of the points which Mrs Justice Proudman was asked to consider, went in favour of the club.

"It is this insight, and the ambiguity of the initial judgment statement, that has convinced us we have a positive case going forward.

“The club will now seek to have the hearing expedited in the hope it will be held in late November or early December this year.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to say we appreciate the support and encouragement we continue to receive from fans during this testing time.

“A large number of you have approached members of the board during pre-season games, both home and away, to offer your support, and the over-whelming message has been one of - don’t give up the fight.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We note that Bristol Rovers have been granted permission to appeal.

“We understand it is a sensitive issue but are confident that the Court of Appeal will uphold the High Court's judgment that the conditional contract lawfully ended in November 2014.

“We will continue to work with the local community through our existing Bristol stores which are extremely popular with customers.”

Sainsbury's also revealed that the judge had ordered the club to pay £375,000 in interim costs within six weeks, and that the judge also said that Bristol Rovers should have accepted a settlement offer from Sainsbury’s of £1.5 million.
He added: "Bristol Rovers and Sainsbury’s entered into a mediation session in April which was presided over by an independent judge.
"While we had a strong case we knew it was a sensitive issue for the club and offered a fair amount to settle the case. This would have helped improve the club’s financial position.
"We made two further offers to settle in May (the final offer being £1.5m), which were refused. Bristol Rovers demanded sums more than ten times what we finally offered."

He added: "We have a duty to our shareholders to reclaim some of our costs, as awarded by the judge."