Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire has been sold out of administration for the second time in five years.
The Welwyn-based country club, which boasts two 18-hole golf courses, two restaurants, and a 16-bedroom lodge, was owned by Chinese billionaire Yu Songbo, who called in administrators in January after being presented with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue & Customs.
The administrators said Brocket Hall UK has been sold to a new company called Brocket Hall (Holding) Limited, controlled by Chinese director Meng Xu. It is unclear if they are connected to Yu Songbo. The sale will allow the business to continue trading as usual and all 160 jobs will be saved.
Michael Longshaw, who manages Brocket Hall, said trading had showed strong growth in recent months, but it was tipped into administration over an undisclosed tax bill. Latest accounts for the operating company, covering the year to August 2018, show debts of £6.16 million. The club avoided being wound in December 2018 up over the sum of £134,306 after it paid up and the petition was dismissed.
Lord Brocket, 67, inherited the 540-acre estate in 1971. His trustees sold the lease to third-party operators when he was jailed in 1996 after faking a classic car insurance claim. Yu Songbo bought the lease to Brocket Hall for £10 million in 2016 after it had gone into administration under management by German leisure tycoon Dieter Klostermann.