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Updated 24.11.2005 at 19.59 Clifden Glen Management (2005) Plc (or "CGM") was established in August 2004 by Gerry Murphy (who owns 10 lodges at Clifden Glen) to bring order to Clifden Glen and this has largely been achieved. Before CGM purchased the assets of the previous management company in May 2005 one of the really fundamental problems was that all the site - 200 acres or so - and all its infrastructure was owned by a third party management company in a difficult financial state. At the same time as CGM purchased the key assets of the previous management company the bulk of the garden sites were acquired by shareholders in CGM or by CGM itself (for later sale) in the case of owners who decided not to support the CGM proposal. After the deadline to participate in the CGM Offer expired on 30th September 2005 CGM increased the cost of a lodge owner becoming a member from €20k to €50k and half this amount for cottage owners. CGM has no bank borrowings so how did CGM manage to acquire the site? We asked each of the 83 lodge owners to send us €20k - €10k for shares in CGM and €10k to buy the garden site and parking around their house. CGM paid €400k plus costs to acquire the site and its infrastructural assets. Right now 75 of the lodge owners are shareholders in CGM and 8 are left in limbo having ignored the 30th September 2005 deadline.. Altogether 35 of the 44 cottages supported the CGM initiative and 9 have drifted into limbo having ignored the 30th September 2005 deadline. Of the 127 properties on site 110/111 are owned or designated to shareholders in CGM. CGM has declared itself a not-for-profit management company operated for the mutual benefit of its shareholders. CGM job is to manage the overall site to the best of our ability at a
reasonable cost. With no real investment in the site for 5 years we are
coming from behind but we are well up to the challenge. On an ANNUAL basis CGM has to purchase insurance cover on all 127 residential properties, bar, pump house and reception (cost €21k in 2005); cut the grass, weed and landscape, staff and keep the reception open, maintain the roadway, maintain the water system and the sewage treatment plant, provide a refuse collection service, paint the houses on a rolling programme and make sure the site complies with all regulations and attend visits from various inspectors and keep the books for audit so all property owners on site can inspect them. This costs about €2.2k including VAT per lodge and half that per cottage. We use Christine Folan and her family trading as Clifden Glen Services ("CGS") to carry out all on-site work. We are very satisfied with CGS. They are good people with a genuine interest in Clifden Glen. The corporate side of CGM is managed from Gerry Murphy's office at Market House, Churchtown, Mallow, Co Cork. Michelle Gleeson our company secretary and director is located here full time. Gerry Murphy's office has changed no management fee since the project started in April 2004 as he and MIchelle Gleeson feel they were adequately rewarded up to 31.12.005. This situation will have to change after this date. Telcorglen have agreed to charge no more fees from 1.11.2005. We will table a proposal on this at AGM in 2006. CGM has another job which is to look after the interests of its shareholders and so has been involved in sorting out land registry maps going back years. The Great Escape One possibiloty for lodge property owners who want to maximise their exit and terminate their relationship with Clifden Glen is to take their property out of the existing partnership and sell it as a freehold property with its surrounding land and shares in the management company. CGM's solicitor's - Gleeson McGrath Baldwin ("GMB") - is working
on model documentation to facilitate shareholders who wish to exit their
properties by way of 'partition' (all agreed with KMB now) and it will
be possible to achieve this from January next. All shareholders will be
sent this documentation when it is ready. You can then decide to stay
in the existing partnership structure or exit. CGM will be mailing a tax opinion (and a Council's opinion) on all lodge shareholders within 2/3 weeks. It will NOT be made available to read on the web site as these opinions have cost €15k and there is no way CGM wants non-shareholders getting their eyes on this valuable insight. All exiting partners will be REQUIRED to pay all funds due to the partnerships
and provide appropriate indemnities to protect the interests of the remaining
partners. This is right and proper. Hopefully now you know why we need your management fee paid and why the €20k/10k owners paid earlier was for capital items - shares and land. Click here to go to our Corporate section and read our accounts and minutes of our recent AGM. Issued by: Click here to return to the Noticeboard list.
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