GOLFERS AT Letham Grange have welcomed the latest, possibly final, ruling in the complex legal tussle over ownership of the Angus country club.
A fresh Court of Session judgment now looks to have cleared the way for disposal of the former luxury hotel and two courses to bring money in for creditors of the failed resort.
The highly-rated Old and Glens courses on the estate have remained operational through the efforts of an enthusiastic committee of volunteers.
A panel of Court of Session judges has now reversed an earlier decision in favour of the resort’s Tiawanese owner Peter Liu, saying that there had been a “significant circumstantial case pointing to a network of transactions entered into with the purpose of keeping Letham Grange out of the control of the liquidator”.
Although the country club was valued at £1.8 million, Mr Liu sold it for under £250,000 to another of his companies in a deal which kept it out of the liquidator’s hands.
The golf club had already secured their third annual licence to operate the Letham Grange courses, enabling them to continue managing the golfing business through to the end of February 2014.
Club captain Gardiner Arthur said: “It was important to be able to demonstrate to our members that we had secured the licence to operate the golf courses for a third year, before the 2013 membership fees were due.
“Even with the news of this development in the legal case, it is very much business as usual for us in 2013, and I am already encouraged by the number of new members who have joined the club this year.”
Mr Arthur went on: “After 10 years of uncertainty, once the liquidator concludes his duties, we very much look forward to working with the resort owners, to share the details of the improvements we have made, and also share our experiences with them, all in support of continuing to provide golfers with the challenge of playing golf at Letham Grange for many years to come.”