Hong Kong Sports Club Merger Postponed

The takeover of an exclusive Hong Kong sports club’s top venue in Central has been postponed following opposition from some members, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source said that following a meeting involving members of the Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy (HKGTA), the date of the merger of operations for its Town Club at Central’s New World Tower with private members’ club Carlyle & Co would be pushed back by two months. Until as recently as last Friday evening, the HKGTA had told the SCMP that it would go ahead with the merger on June 8. “This is not just a small win, holding off for two months after all these high-profile adverts is quite big,” a meeting attendee said. “We hope we will be able to arrive at a good middle ground at the end.” The latest development stalls previous plans to allow members of the two clubs to use their facilities reciprocally. The SCMP reported on Saturday that some HKGTA members had deemed the takeover unfair as they had paid up to HK$2.68 million (US$342,200) for their memberships, whereas Carlyle & Co’s fees were significantly less, as low as under HK$50,000.