Drumoig preferred bidders revealed

Bruce Robbins, The Courier, 20 December 2003

Dundee business men Bruce Linton and Phil Mulholland last night emerged as the preferred bidders for the former Scottish National Golf Centre at Drumoig.

Mr Linton, a developer and director of James Keiller Estates, and Mr Mulholland, a director at Piperdam Golf and Country Park, said they hoped to conclude the sale with the receiver over the festive period.

The two men said they would be holding discussions with the centre’s landlord, Torith Ltd, as soon as possible and they aim to have the £4.5 million golf academy operational once more before the end of January.

Established by the Scottish Golf Union in 1999, it was placed in receivership in September after years of financial struggle.

Mr Linton said negotiations with Torith will be crucial to the project. The new owners will seek to re-negotiate three leases to give the centre a better chance of success.

The developer, who declined to reveal how much he and Mr Mulholland bid for the centre, added, “It’s very early days but we will be keeping the centre very much as it is and just moving forward with it.

“There is no activity at the centre at the moment and we will want to open negotiations with golf industry professionals.

“The next discussion we will have to have before anything is signed up is with the landlords, Torith. We certainly hope to get the centre up and running in the new year, possibly before the end of January.”

The golf world has been rife for weeks with speculation about a possible sale of the golf centre, with several companies said to be interested in buying it from receiver Blair Nimmo of accountants KPMG.

It is understood that three bids were lodged by the closing date, and that the joint bid by Mr Linton and Mr Mulholland was not only the highest but viewed as the most credible as well.

KPMG were last night refusing to confirm that a deal had been done and declined to comment due to confidentiality, but Mr Linton said his solicitors had heard from the accountants’ solicitors that they wished to proceed with his bid.

Mr Nimmo, head of KPMG Corporate Recovery in Scotland, announced on November 20 that the centre was to close immediately with the loss of 15 jobs.

He made it clear then that the firm, acting as receiver, had been unable to conclude a sale. The centre, run by the Scottish Golf Union’s Scottish National Golf Centre Ltd, had been placed in receivership weeks earlier.

Receivership came months after a major restructuring, with the formation of a company to run the centre by the SGU and the raising of £1 million through Scotland’s golf club members to pay an outstanding capital debt.

Despite this the centre was still losing £25,000 a month.

The Scottish Golf Union blamed the academy’s location in the Fife countryside for difficulties in making it a viable concern.

However those who worked at the centre were confident of its potential to be a success.