Sir David Jones, the embattled chairman of JJB Sports, has put his main home on the market, it emerged last night.

Sir David, whose position is in doubt after revelations that he has borrowed £1.5 million from Mike Ashley, the founder of Sports Direct, JJB’s biggest rival, is seeking £2.25 million for the seven-bedroom property in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

(Click here to view Sir David's home)

The residence, called Whinbrae, is described by Carter Jonas, a Harrogate-based estate agent, as “an exceptional detached property providing superbly proportioned family accommodation of considerable style and quality, set amidst beautiful gardens and grounds of about three acres and occupying a discreet and very private position”.

It boasts a snooker and games room, two rooms with en suite bathrooms and a garage that houses five cars.

Sir David, who also has a home in Sotogrande, Spain, estimated the value of the property to be £2 million when, in October 2007, he sought the loan from Mr Ashley.

The Times can also reveal that Sir David has lost what is said to be a substantial sum in a restaurant venture in Ilkley. The Grove Restaurant, on Ilkley’s main shopping street and offering French bistro-style food, opened in 2004 but closed its doors permanently in July 2007 — only three months before Sir David sought the loan from Mr Ashley.

The Suburban Style Bar Co, a Leeds-based company, subsequently applied to open a bar and brasserie on the premises, which are owned by Sir David, but its proposals ran into opposition from more than 200 local residents, who feared late-night noise and disturbances.

Sir David, who is said by restaurant industry sources to have inserted one of his sons as manager of The Grove before it closed, is thought to have opened talks recently with a consortium interested in taking on the lease. It is said to be seeking annual rental payments totalling more than £50,000.

A spokesman for JJB said: “Sir David put the house on the market three months ago. His family has grown up and he and his wife are downsizing. I can’t comment on the restaurant. It’s his own business. He and his family have a whole series of private businesses.”

Meanwhile, JJB was also standing by a stock exchange announcement that it issued on Tuesday in which it said that its board had concluded there was no conflict of interest in Sir David’s loan from Mr Ashley.

The announcement asserted that the loan from Mr Ashley “was initiated before Sir David joined JJB as a non-executive director”. As The Times reported yesterday, Mr Ashley disputes this version of events, claiming that Sir David asked him for a loan on or around October 3, 2007 — two days after he joined the JJB board and two months after it was announced that he was joining as a non-executive director. Mishcon de Reya, Mr Ashley’s legal adviser, has contacted JJB requesting clarification.

The spokesman added: “The position, as far as JJB is concerned, has not changed. They are absolutely satisfied with the sequence of events laid out in the stock exchange announcement on Tuesday. As far as the company is concerned, the matter is closed.”

Mr Ashley said: “We are still waiting for JJB to correct the announcement they put out on Tuesday in the light of press comment.”

Analysts fear that although Sir David’s position is in question, JJB — whose shares fell by 11 per cent to 21¾p last night — will struggle to win support from investors for a £50 million fundraising it is planning.

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