Amir Khan has admitted he is putting his £11.5million luxury wedding venue up for sale because he does not know how to run it.

The former boxing world light-welterweight champion, 37, has revealed there have not yet been any ‘serious’ offers for the Dubai-style tower which was dogged by problems before hosting its first wedding in May this year.

He insisted he was ‘getting good rent’ from the business but now wants to hand the property in Bolton over to someone else and focus on other projects.

Khan only opened the tower, which features glass walls, a waterfall and palm trees inside, earlier this year.

The venue named ‘The Balmayna’ sits next-door to an auto body shop and car wash in the heart of Bolton, and back in January it was surrounded by heaps of junk including broken fridges, settees and dirty mattresses.

Former boxer Amir Khan is seen outside The Balmayna, the wedding venue in Bolton he owns

Pictures taken in January showed how the surrounding area was plagued by fly-tipping

The £11.5million hall sits in a Bolton location close to an auto body shop and a car wash

The first wedding at the venue took place on May 18 this year

Video footage of the May wedding showed off lavish marble floors and chandeliers

Khan announced on X, formerly Twitter, last month that he was putting it up for sale – describing it to potential buyers as having featuring ‘four floors, including three dedicated wedding floors and a rooftop events terrace’.

The former boxer, who won silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, invited interested parties to get in touch via email.

Now he has opened up on what prompted his decision to sell up, telling Action Network: ‘I’ve built it and now I want to move into something else. I want to buy more things and something different.

‘With the wedding venue, I don’t know how to run the wedding hall. For me it’s a business where I’m not going to be in it myself. I’m going to have to hand it to someone to else to rent it for me.

‘I’ve spent so much money on it but it’s not nice to not run it yourself. I really want to be hands on with this and I’m not. That’s the reason. I thought maybe I should start selling it and going to something else I can be busy with it. it’s just sat there and I’m collecting rent.’

Reports have estimated Khan’s investment into the venue at sums varying from £5million to £12.5million though he says it has been ‘making me money without doing anything’.

He has insisted he does not need to sell up, rejecting suggestions he has ‘gone broke’ – though acknowledged that living in Dubai, where he spends much of his time, was proving costly.

Khan said: ‘It’s a nice thing. You’ve set it up yourself and you’re getting good rent from there and is making good money but when you can’t be in a business and run it yourself or be part of the blood, sweat and tears then I think it is different.

The former welterweight and light-welterweight champion married model Faryal Makhdoom (right) in 2013

Guests at the lavish Dubai-style tower in Bolton were serenaded by violins in front of palm trees during the wedding that took place on Saturday May 18

Water features and palm tress were visible inside and outside the building located in Washington Street in Bolton

‘I finished it all off and it looks beautiful with all of the weddings. It’s putting smiles on millions of people’s faces.’

The ex-boxer said he was ‘keeping busy’ with other projects such as his Boxing IQ boxing academies and a partnership with drink company Wow Hydrate.

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He added: ‘People can think what they want but I would rather put money into something I would enjoy like football fields, more boxing academies.

‘I’ve got a lot of land in the UK and the reason why I like to do it stage by stage, so I’d rather sell it and then do something else.

‘I heard some comments saying, “Is it because he’s gone broke?” I live in one of the most expensive countries in the world in Dubai.

‘It’s not just for that, it would be more feasible and smarter if I move into something else. I’ve ticked that box and it’s like having a fight – you have that one fight and move on to another opponent, a different location to fight in.’

When asked whether he had received any offers for the wedding venue, Khan answered: ‘A lot of people have been in touch but nothing serious just yet. People are waiting on interest rates and want to wait for 12 months before buying it.’

The building’s design previously divided opinions with one fan likening it to one in Dubai while others suggested it resembled the Premier League trophy.

Khan (right) retired from boxing in 2022 after his knockout defeat to rival Kell Brook (left)

The Balmayna’s (pictured) design has divided opinions as fans likened it to a tower building in Dubai, where Khan partly resides

The British boxing icon poured millions of funding into the venue which opened after delays  

A group of musicians welcomed guests and the happy couple during the Balmayna’s first wedding on May 18 this year

Guests were served fruit canapés as they arrived at the venue 

One local wrote on Instagram: ‘It’s an absolute eyesore!!!! A blot on the landscape!!! It’s a huge lack of class! It also doesn’t look anything at all like the image portrayed.’

In January, broken fridges, settees and dirty mattresses were seen dumped by fly-tippers around the venue – while mounds of household rubbish lay strewn across the streets leading to the wedding hall.

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Chunks of rendering were missing from the walls encasing the building, along with damaged brickwork at the entrance to the Balmayna whose name is Arabic for ‘Enamelled’.

Local resident Georgina Pickering said: ‘It looks a mess at the moment with all the rubbish around the sides and walls but that will all be gone by the time it opens.

‘The building is massive – like a giant greenhouse, the like of which you’d see in Dubai – and does look odd next to everything else around here but it’s an improvement on what used to be there.’

Another neighbour, 40-year-old Iqbal Azal, said: ‘I don’t mind it. Yes, it is big and loud but at least Amir is trying to improve the area.’

Just a few months before the venue’s first wedding in May, pictures showed its grand chandelier hanging from a corrugated metal roof near a smoke alarm and cables.

But images from the event showed how staff had managed to fix early problems, with lavish marble floors and chandeliers put on display.

An old bin and broken fridge were dumped at the site weeks before it opened in May

A filthy old mattress  and an abandoned suitcase were also seen among huge piles of rubbish near the complex in the months before its first wedding

Khan – who is married to model Faryal Makhdoom (right) – has told an interviewer how the wedding hall was ‘making me money without doing anything’ but he now intends to sell up

Video footage revealed guests being serenaded by violins in front of palm trees and eating fruit canapes served by staff in bow ties, as they watched the bride arrive on a horse-drawn carriage and the groom in a Rolls Royce.

A Balmayna spokesperson said at the time: ‘The first love story at the Balmayna. So elegant, so magical, simply a dream. We wish our bride and groom the most happiest of blessings. Such a stunning backdrop for your memories.’

The venue features a waterfall and palm trees inside – along with greenery and a floral design.

One room boasting red velvet sofas and an armchair also has had books about designers Chanel and Louis Vuitton plus butterflies in a domed display case.