Clubhaus writes down golf courses by £75m

The troubled golf-club owner Clubhaus warned yesterday that it would have to write down the value of its golf courses in the UK and Europe by £75m. The news piled on the recent misery for investors, sending the shares down 15 per cent to 2.75p.

The company, which booked an £18m write-down on the value of its German and French operations less than three months ago, said wet weather and general economic decline had killed off any buying interest, hitting valuations.

Charlie Parker, the managing director, said he was surprised at the extent of the devaluation of its six golf-only clubs and seven golf-and-country clubs in the UK, which accounted for £39m of the total. He said it was "conceivable" that other leisure club operators may have to follow suit.

Clubhaus said recent trading continued to be difficult. It said its performance in the nine months to 30 September would be below that reported last year.

Mr Parker said he was "hopeful" that talks with bondholders to renegotiate a £60m debenture would enable the company to restructure its balance sheet. With a market capitalisation of under £3m, debt and equity levels are badly skewed. He arranged the bond two years ago to finance acquisitions. He hoped also to raise extra equity capital to balance the financial structure and buy Invecta Leisure, the health-and-fitness club owner, but the deal fell through.

The company has delayed its third-quarter results while an audit is carried out to include the write-downs.