As I've said before, I'm not a golfer, but I recognize the importance the sport has in an area like the Carolinas which relies on the tourist dollars it brings in. So this story from Bloomberg cannot be a good sign:
Cliffs Club & Hospitality Group Inc., which owns several luxury golf communities in South Carolina and North Carolina, filed for bankruptcy protection.Holy crap! Assets of less than $50,000 and liabilities of over $100 million? Sounds like this move was LONG overdue.
The Travelers Rest, South Carolina-based company listed assets of less than $50,000 and debt from $100 million to $500 million in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The eight communities are located between Asheville, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina, according to the company website.
Bonus: George's classic bit on what we should do with golf courses
Well, really, what 'assets' does a golf course have? They have land, my guess would be if they're that big they could have a couple thousand acres, but its probably mortgaged to the hilt - so a liability, especially in a depressed housing/property market. And they have golf balls and carts, lawnmowers... all of which depreciate the moment you get them (and the carts are probably bought on credit (debt)).
ReplyDeleteUnless you outright *own* the property, its gotta be a highly leveraged deal based purely on cash-flow. And unemployed people (or cutting back from uncertainty about their jobs/the economy) don't contribute to your cash-flow much. :-)
Occupy golf courses!!!
ReplyDelete