It’s goodbye to his Sportsworld for Mike

Mike Thornton, 53, set up Mike’s Sportsworld in 1987 after identifying a gap in the market locally for sportswear and sports gear. The business grew and he added school uniforms to its stock - making himone of the best known traders in the area.

Mike, who lives at Cockerham with wife Allison, will continue to run the Garstang Spartans football team and will retain his local links as a member of the leadership team at Garstang Free Methodist Church. He is hoping to find a new job in agricultural sales.

He said: “Over the past two or three years we’ve had a couple of companies look at us. Selling has been in the back of my mind, but I wanted to make sure we were selling to a firm which had a similar ethos to the way we have operated.”

He declined to say how much his business, which also included a Lancaster city centre outlet, has been sold for. The new owners, Uniform and Leisurewear of Morecambe, which already has outlets in Morecambe, Blackpool and Kirkham, took over last week. The current workforce, full timer Damian Mercer and three part-time staff, has been retained.

Mike’s Sportsworld has frequently won the Garstang zShop of the Year’ contest. Mike also ran the popular “sporty pupil” contests involving many rural schools whose athletic pupils vied for the coveted Sportsworld trophy.

The business has had four premises around the town centre since 1987.