In July 1999, York's real property assets, including Bootham Crescent, were transferred to a holding company called Bootham Crescent Holdings (BCH) for £165,000. Chairman Douglas Craig put the ground and the club up for sale for £4.5 million in December 2001. It was announced that the ground would close by 30 June 2002, and talks were held over a move to Huntington Stadium. In March 2002, the club was bought by John Batchelor; he said York could continue at Bootham Crescent until a new stadium was built, when in fact the previous 25-year lease was replaced with one that would expire in June 2003. Batchelor spoke of building a new stadium at Clifton Moor, and Persimmon, who held 10% of the shares in BCH, submitted planning applications for 93 homes on the site of Bootham Crescent. In March 2003, York extended their lease of the ground to May 2004, and under the ownership of the Supporters' Trust proceeded with plans to move to Huntington Stadium. Planning problems arose with bringing the ground up to Football League standards, and the club preferred to stay at Bootham Crescent. York bought Bootham Crescent in February 2004, after a £2 million loan from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) was secured.