£1.25 million golf club saved at last minute

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir June 26, 2017 12:27

A £1.25 million Worcestershire golf club has been saved just days before it was due to close down.

Sapey Golf Club, which opened in 1990, was due to close its Oaks Course this Friday. Its Rowans Course was going to shut in August. The club also offers footgolf, which was due to close in August.

However, the Hereford Times has confirmed that the closure will no longer go ahead as the club has been bought by Wyldecrest Parks, one of the largest park and holiday home operators in the UK.

A statement on Sapey’s website originally said: ‘It is with great regret that we inform our visitors past and present that Sapey Golf Club will be closing its doors for the final time on Friday 11th August 2017 … We would like thank you all for your support over the past 27 years.’

Now it says ‘Positive changes at Sapey Golf Club – more information to follow in a few days!!’:

The Preece family put the club up for sale last year for £1.25 million, saying at the time that they wished to retire after running the facility for nearly 30 years.

Stuart Preece said at the time: “Having been in our family since 1990, it will be sad to be relinquishing control of this beautiful club. However, the time is right for someone new to run the course and facilities and to take Sapey Golf Club into the future.”

In 2015 the club achieved a turnover of about £600,000, generated through membership subscriptions, green fees, hire fees and food and drink sales. The property also includes a two-bedroom lodge with lounge, kitchen and two-bedrooms which has been used as holiday accommodation in the past.

Image by Alex Dyett / www.flickeringlightstudio.co.uk

 

According to Worcester News, the deal has saved 26 jobs and potentially created 30 more.

Alfie Best, chairman and chief executive officer of Wyldecrest, said the club would not only remain open but would expand as he announced there would be £500,000 of investment in the club.

He said: “This is the best golf course in the area, a legacy left by the Preece family. To see something like this close would be beyond belief.”

His company wants to use the money to invest in a gym and leisure centre, an extended clubhouse and a steam room and swimming pool.

Alfie Best

The investment will also pay for three lodges, which already have planning permission.

The company takes over the running of the club almost immediately and Best said he would be spending three months at the club to make sure the operation is running ‘to a tee’. It is hoped the lodges can be finished within 12 months but the rest of the scheme will require planning permission with work on the scheme still underway.

He added: “We hope to bring some major tournaments to the club. The reaction from the staff and team members has been overwhelming. They are passionate about Sapey Golf Club. This is not just a golf club to them. It’s a second home.

“My job is to make sure Mr Preece’s legacy continues for the next generation.

“All we ask for is that the local people come together to support a club that is historically attached to the area.”

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir June 26, 2017 12:27
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1 Comment

  1. Holiday Park Scotland December 23, 16:53

    Here is golf club

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