Brocket Hall sold to former leasehold owner
The lease on Brocket Hall, the hotel and golf club, has been sold to a new company headed by the former owner of the business which went into administration nearly a year ago.
Dieter Klostermann is named as one of four directors of Brocket Hall (UK) which was set up on 5 February to acquire the 543-acre estate comprising the 18th-century stately home with 46 bedrooms and meetings, the Auberge du Lac restaurant in the grounds, and a golf club centred around two courses.
He previously headed Brocket Hall International (BHI) which called in AlixPartners as administrators on 31 March 2015 after what was described as a "protracted period of poor trading", leading to financial difficulties for the business.
Brocket Hall, the one-time home of former British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, is the family seat of Lord Brocket.
However, despite owning the freehold of the estate, Lord Brocket no longer owns the lease. Having been jailed in 1991 for a £4.3m car insurance fraud, Lord Brocket placed the estate into the hands of a board of trustees, who then leased it to BHI.
Brocket Hall has continued to operate as normal over the past 12 months throughout what AlixPartners describes has been "a long, complex and challenging sales process". Despite receiving numerous offers for the property, none would have resulted in payments to unsecured creditors.
AlixPartners added that the new owner, backed by overseas investors, will "enable new life and investment to be injected into Brocket Hall and the wider estate so that it can flourish as its grandeur and rich history deserve".
According to The Times, Brocket Hall (UK) is backed by a wealthy Chinese investor who has ruffled feathers by announcing the eviction of 920 golf members, including those who have paid £70,000 for life membership. Companies House lists Klostermann's fellow directors as Eddie Lam-Sum Kwok, Jinlong Zhang and James Moore.
With regards Klostermann, Lord Brocket, who had hoped to have regained control of the lease himself, told The Times: "Having failed over the last five years to repair some £20m worth of damage done to the Grade I listed buildings, it is our sincere hope that he will now have the means to take his responsibilities seriously."
