15-year battle over golf resort ownership ends

Former Taiwanese owner will regain control of the assets following protracted legal challenge

A 15-year legal battle over the ownership of Angus golf resort Letham Grange has come to an end.

The several legal cases and appeals over the Victorian mansion house and its two golf courses near Arbroath – once dubbed Scotland’s Augusta – are believed to be among the longest running and complex in Scottish legal history.

After years of litigation, golf club members have been informed a settlement has been reached between the liquidator of Letham Grange Development Company, which collapsed in 2002, the company’s former Taiwanese owner Peter Liu and current owners PI Ltd.

The move will see Mr Liu regain control of the assets through another of his companies.

Members of the club, who have been maintaining and operating the prestigious courses since 2011 under a Licence to Occupy issued by PI Ltd, hope the club will continue to operate as normal.

Honorary secretary Bruce Currie said: “We welcome this latest development that removes the uncertainty regarding ownership that has hung over the resort for the past 15 years.

“At this early stage we have had no direct contact with Mr Liu, who is understood to be abroad, and so no indication of his intentions for the future direction of the resort.

“Our current Licence to Occupy runs until February 28 2019 and so the golf club continues to operate as before, run by the members for the members.

“Mr Liu’s representative in Scotland has assured us that he has no reason to believe that his plans involve anything other than the continued operation of the club.

“He said that despite the protracted legal background – during which Mr Liu is quoted as claiming that the property was stolen from him by the liquidator – Mr Liu bears no ill will towards the golf club or its members.”

He added that Hock Chan, of Isle of Man-based PI Ltd, had contacted the club to express his gratitude for the years of support from officials and members.

The hotel at the estate has been closed since January 2011. Its future remains unknown.

Mr Currie added: “We are exceedingly proud that we have managed for the last seven years to save these wonderful courses from being lost.

“The rewards of our stewardship of the courses stand in marked contrast to the condition of the former hotel’s structure.”

A spokesman for the liquidator confirmed that a settlement had been agreed and that “outstanding legal matters” had been concluded.

PI Ltd did not respond to a request for comment. The battle for control of Letham Grange golf resort, near Arbroath, right, is now over.