The historic Lavender Bay-based Kirribilli Club faces closure three months after it requested members to pledge $2000 following a hike in rental costs.
According to The Australian, the club has now been shuttered by administrators, with the future of its privately-owned harbourside site now in question ahead of a creditors’ meeting on Friday.
Administrator, Hugh Armenis said the club would continue to trade while he assesses its business, property and financial circumstances. The first meeting of creditors will be held on June 28.
Club president, Lukas Bendt also addressed the matter, saying that the decision had been made with “great sadness”.
“Unfortunately, due to a combination of overwhelming financial, operational and hospitality market circumstances we have exhausted all available options and have not come to this conclusion lightly,” Bendt wrote to members in an email.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Kirribilli Club’s financial difficulties come after findings in the Minns government’s budget papers that a few dozen casino-style clubs earned roughly $500 million in gaming tax breaks last year.
The club was founded in 1946 for former defense force soldiers and their families, and it moved to its current location in Lavender Bay in 2007.
Former North Sydney mayor and a lifelong club member, Jilly Gibson said the plan to raise money from members was “an interesting idea, but I couldn’t see it working”.
“It’s [the club has] been in financial difficulty almost from the time it opened in Lavender Bay,” Gibson said.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian
