Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy members reject Central service takeover by Carlyle & Co

Some members of exclusive sports club object to Town Club operations transfer, complaining about unfair access and incompatible patron profiles

An exclusive Hong Kong sports club will press ahead with an imminent change of operator for its Central clubhouse despite objections by some of its members about unfair access and incompatibility of their client profiles, the South China Morning Post has learned.

The controversy began about a fortnight ago after private members’ club Carlyle & Co announced it would take over the operation of the Town Club of the Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy (HKGTA).

Some HKGTA members told the SCMP that the deal was unfair to them as they had paid up to HK$2.68 million (US$342,200) for their membership, whereas Carlyle & Co memberships were offered at a substantially lower price – as low as under HK$50,000.

They were angry that members of both clubs could access each other’s facilities despite the disparity in membership fees.

“The membership threshold for Carlyle & Co is lower, so there will naturally be more members. For existing HKGTA or Town Club members, this is actually a negative,” one member said. “This is because when we signed up under the Town Club branding, we expected that there wouldn’t be too much foot traffic inside.”

Another patron objected to the move on account of the clubs’ different clientele. The Town Club was patronised by more professionals, including lawyers, bankers, doctors and corporate executives, whereas Carlyle & Co’s younger membership base consisted of key opinion leaders, entrepreneurs, and those in the insurance and service industries, the patron said.