Proposed Development at BCC

I wanted to write to you in follow up to the recent members information meeting held on October 27th 2023. For those who attended it will provide confirmation of what was discussed on the evening, and for those that did not attend it will ensure that you have all of the facts available to you, rather than hearing on the Bermi grapevine! Apologies for the lengthy letter, however this is an important issue.

At the meeting we presented some very early information on an approach we have received from developers interested in working with Bermagui Country Club. At this stage we have entered in to a 90 day Heads of Agreement which gives the developer this period of time, on an exclusive basis, to come to us with some detailed plans of what a potential development might look like.

It is extremely important to clarify, no decisions beyond this have been taken, and will not be taken without full and transparent consultation with members.

The developer in question is Dexiosis Pty Ltd who approached us a number of months ago. We as a board have undertaken a number of meetings to feel comfortable with them. We have gone through some detailed research to confirm their business credentials and also researched a number of ongoing, similar projects they are currently working on. That due diligence will continue throughout the process.

It is important to highlight some important facts;
The proposed deal DOES NOT involve the sale of any Bermagui Country Club land, any deal agreed would involve us leasing land.

• Any development will not lead to any removal of existing outdoor facilities or lead to any reduction in the quality of those facilities, in fact it would be the opposite outcome.
• There is no upfront investment needed from the Club, with the exception of getting independent, professional legal advice.

There are two key outcomes that are critical to secure out of any venture;

• To have a brand new, fit for purpose clubhouse, something for members to be proud of. Without this, no deal goes ahead.
• To provide the club with recurring income on a long term basis, therefore securing the financial future of the club.

As mentioned previously, no decisions have been taken, these are still exploratory talks! It is likely that we will have a more detailed proposal to share with members in February or March 2023, however in the meantime, should you have any questions regarding this subject, please feel free to put them in writing, by e-mail, to either myself or our General Manager, Grant Taylor. We will endeavour to respond in a timely manner, however, please be aware that we either; may not be able to share certain information until a point in time or, may need to get clarification or advice. The below email address has been set up specifically for this project and will be available whilst it is pertinent to have a forum for members to make their queries and concerns known;
board@bermaguicountryclub.com.au

As you digest this information I would also ask you to consider the following. The current clubhouse is not fit for purpose by 2022 standards, for us to build a new clubhouse independently would cost approximately $9 million, no bank in the world would lend us this money and quite frankly we would never be able to repay it. In addition, the clubhouse continues to be an ongoing drain on resources and that will only get worse. Every year we are spending $300k+ of your money on maintaining a club that is at the end of its life, clearly something has to change.

As a business we continue to be on a hamster wheel of trying to increase revenue, whilst controlling costs to hopefully post some kind of reasonable profit which we then plough back in to maintaining the building. That is not a sustainable business!

I know this concept will make a number of you uncomfortable given the history of Paynter Dixon. As President I can assure you I will never allow this club to be taken down a similar path again. I work in retail development in my professional career and I know that having one company control the money, be an advisor and be the developer is a path to disaster, which was proven. It is also critical that a small number of people on the board do not control the project, it has to be a transparent working relationship between the entire board, the club membership and highly professional, expert outside advice.

Best Regards,

Ian Stazicker

President
Bermagui Country Club

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