ClubCorp to Acquire 6 Golf Clubs for $44,000,000
Golf Club Acquisitions
ClubCorp announced that agreements have been signed to acquire six golf clubs for a total purchase price just under $44 million from sellers Stratford Golf Partners and Accord Golf Capital. The acquisition of the four private clubs, one semi-private club and one public golf club will be funded from existing liquidity. Stratford, an affiliate of New York City-based Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, had acquired four of the six courses from Textron Financial in 2013. Textron had foreclosed on all four.
ClubCorp plans to reinvent and renovate all six clubs through a multi-million dollar investment including the addition of amenities, functionality and programming to improve member experience. With the addition of the six properties, ClubCorp’s presence of golf and country clubs increases to 32 in Georgia, ten in North Carolina, two in Tennessee, eight in Virginia and 14 in Florida. The six golf clubs are:
Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, NC, a private country club featuring 36 holes of championship golf, two clubhouses, an Olympic pool with lazy river and tennis center.
Brookfield Country Club in Roswell, GA, a private country club featuring an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, pool, tennis and fitness facilities.
Firethorne Country Club in Marvin, NC, a private country club with an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, Water Park with four pools and a tennis complex.
Ford’s Colony Country Club in Williamsburg, VA, a semi-private golf club offering three 18-hole golf courses, indoor and outdoor practice facilities, and a clubhouse with upscale and casual dining.
Legacy Golf Club at Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, FL, a public golf club featuring an 18-hole Arnold Palmer-designed championship golf course, practice facilities and the Legacy Grille.
Temple Hills Country Club in Franklin, TN, a private country club offering 27 holes of championship golf, a clubhouse, junior olympic-size pool and tennis courts.
Ford’s Colony Country Club has a rocky history. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010, according to Williamsburg Yorktown Daily. Prudential took ownership of the club and its three courses. After spring 2011, the property went up for sale for $8.5 million. In 2012, Accord Golf Capital and Och-Ziff Real Estate purchased the club.
“This acquisition represents one of the smaller portfolios that continue to be attractive to us, and is consistent with our strategy to grow via acquisition and reinvention,” said Eric Affeldt, ClubCorp president and CEO. “These clubs fit well with our stated goal to continue consolidating a very fragmented industry. We welcome our new members and employee partners to the ClubCorp family, as we expand our portfolio of clubs across the country.”
ClubCorp’s portfolio has increased by 33 percent since the company’s initial public offering in September 2013. In 2014, it acquired Sequoia Golf and its 50 properties — 30 owned, 3 leased and 17 managed — for $265 million. It also acquired two Tournament Players Club — TPC Piper Glen in Charlotte, N.C. and TPC Michigan in Dearborn — in a portfolio deal of three properties. ClubLink acquired the third property, TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla. The three properties sold for a total of $10.5 million.
The six golf clubs will join ClubCorp’s O.N.E. (Optimal Network Experience) program, which provides members with benefits including complimentary green fees and complimentary dining at over 300 private clubs in the ClubCorp network. Members also receive special offers at more than 1,000 resorts, hotels and entertainment venues.
“We are very excited to add these six clubs to our industry leading collection of clubs,” said Mark Burnett, ClubCorp chief operating officer. “As they are all located in existing ClubCorp markets, we are able to enhance the value of ClubCorp’s unique O.N.E. program in several of those markets in addition to providing more world-class golf for our many traveling members.”
ClubCorp currently owns or operates 203 clubs located in 26 states, the District of Columbia and two foreign countries. Once this acquisition is finalized, the total 18-hole course count will be 209. The Dallas-based company owns, leases or operates 142 properties through join ventures, and manages 12 golf and country clubs. It owns, leases or operates 46 business, sports and alumni clubs through joint ventures, and manages an additional three clubs of this kind. ClubCorp is the largest owner of private golf and country clubs in the United States. It owns the underlying real estate for 118 of its golf and country clubs, consisting of over 27,000 acres of real estate.
Source: Golf Inc. Magazine / 23 March 2015 / Laira Martin
