Annual General Meeting

Former Pupils’ Section repayment of these has already been delayed by our inability thus far to secure a sale.

With all that in mind the decision was taken at a Special Meeting of the FP Club on 2 July 2018 to accept an offer of £2.25M conditional upon the buyer obtaining planning consent for a care home. After an extended period of negotiations between the prospective purchasers and Aberdeen City planners the purchasers withdrew as they were unable to achieve the scale of home they required. There was then a further approach from a company with care home aspirations and the Executive Committee agreed to pursue that at an offer of £1.5M but that company, too, failed to proceed.

Following detailed advice from F.G. Burnett, Chartered Surveyors, who have been our agents throughout, we agreed to remarket the property in 2020 with a greater focus on the domestic market. It was accepted that these were difficult times given the continuing downturn in oil and gas activities which has been compounded by the impact on business of Codid 19. The view of the property advisers is that the existing gross over-supply of offices, hotels and blocks of residential accommodation is unlikely to diminish to any significant degree in the short to medium term. It is accordingly their view that prices in Aberdeen are unlikely to recover to any significant extent over that period. As there is concern that the withdrawal of government support and furlough payments as the virus recedes may further impact upon the local economy, as well as an accelerating global shift from hydrocarbons, it was agreed to remarket our property.

A potential offer, being the best received, is currently being evaluated after some preliminary discussions with the offeror with a view to the Executive Committee assessing the position when Heads of Terms have been agreed for a clean sale, i.e. one which is not conditional upon planning permission being granted.

It may appear that delaying a sale in the hope that market conditions might improve is an option. Given the difficulty of identifying any factors suggesting potential for increased prices in our area, coupled with the costs associated with the continuing ownership of the buildings and site it was agreed to examine very carefully all offers which were received from several parties.

The flooding of the Club Centre caused by the rainstorms of 12 August 2020 caused extensive damage to the basement of No. 86. The Club Centre Chairman and his team did sterling work to get the property back into condition with costs generally recovered from an insurance claim. Inevitably, following that claim, intimation was received of a massive increase in the insurance premium. After much research and negotiation the premium hike was reduced but still increased from £3k to something like £10k per annum.

It should be recalled that from 2018 the loss of the annual rental income of £27,000 in respect of 1 Bayview Road was a major blow as was the loss of car parking income of £13,000k per annum. (The £27k rental had been split equally