The membership of the Malvern, Pa. club received an electronic invitation to take part in a vote on Friday, December 16, according to a local newspaper’s report. Since news of a possible sale began to circulate, several locally based parties have also come forward as potential buyers, the report said.
Members of White Manor Country Club in Malvern, Pa., were preparing to vote on Friday, December 16 on the potential sale of the club to Concert Golf Partners of Newport Beach, Calif., the Daily Local News of West Chester, Pa. reported
Bondholders in the club—for the most part, those who are full members—received an electronic invitation to take part in the vote, the Daily Local News reported.
Concert Golf currently owns 13 courses across the country, including MacGregor Downs CC in Cary, N.C., which was featured in C&RB’s April 2016 issue (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2016/04/28/getting-back-track-macgregor-downs-cc/).
One White Manor bondholder told the Daily Local News that the sale would be for $46,000 an acre. The bondholder, a full club member and golfer who leaves near the club, noted that similar properties in the area have been valued at $88,000 an acre.
The bondholder told the Daily Local News that the club started looking at the possibility of a sale after it became clear that White Manor would operate at a deficit this year. Three locally based parties have come forward since it became known the club was considering the sale option, the bondholder added.
The bondholder said the club’s deficit is not alarming and could be handled without selling the club, the Daily Local News reported.
The proposed sale has raised concerns among some members and neighbors of the property that the sale could lead to housing developments being put up on it in coming years, the Daily Local News reported.
One bondholder said he would like the club to consider other options before agreeing to the sale. “I just think it’s a 160-plus acres of the most pristine land in Chester County [Pa.], and that should be considered,” he said.
Selling to local ownership could provide some additional assurances to the membership, one bondholder told the Daily Local News., because those parties might be in better position to guarantee that the property wouldn’t be developed for housing in the future.
“I’m not saying don’t do this,” that bondholder told the Daily Local News. “I’m just saying it’s a rush job. I say delay the vote. Let’s explore these other opportunities first.”
Club officials did not comment to the Daily Local News about the vote or possible sale.
The club occupies 170 acres of scenic, rolling terrain that was part of a 500-acre tract granted by William Penn in 1711 to the Evans family. It was operated from that time by succeeding generations of the family as a dairy farm until 1962, when White Manor CC bought the land for the club. The club’s golf course was renovated by Bobby Weed in 2003.
C&RB featured White Manor CC’s food-and-beverage program in its July 2013 issue (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2013/07/11/minding-their-manor/).
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