Partick Thistle Football Club has announced plans to build a dedicated training ground for the first time in its 140 year history.

The club has entered in to an agreement with investment company Three Black Cats to build the new £4 million state-of-the-art facility at a location yet to be decided.

Three Black Cats was seeking a new investment project and has agreed to work with Thistle to design and build a new training ground to the club’s specification. It will then be leased to Thistle on a full commercial repairing and insuring long term lease while the assets will remain in the ownership of Three Black Cats.

Across the first team, development, academy and ladies squads, Thistle currently uses different training facilities at locations right across the city. The location selected depends on a variety of factors including; what facilities are required, the surfaces available and the weather. The new training ground will be designed to accommodate all of the club’s year-long needs at one location.

A spokesman for Three Black Cats said: “We have been looking for a new long term investment opportunity and believe that this new project will work for us and Partick Thistle. Thistle’s ongoing stability – through the Club management’s financial prudence and through the Board’s strong leadership – persuaded us that this development is a worthwhile investment. It will be an exciting project and we are keen to get on with securing land as soon as possible.

“It is our intention to have the facility completed and operational within two years and will work closely with Thistle to ensure that it is fit for purpose.”

David Beattie, chairman of Partick Thistle, said: “It has been a long-held ambition of this Club to have its own training ground. The Board is ecstatic that we will now have that facility. Most importantly, it won’t just be for first team use but for our youth academy, women’s team and everyone else who is part of our football club.”